“Lately” by Bieke Stengos (Cammaert)

I only ask for quiet love now

the kind that holds me in its
soft
still arms
and whispers
distilled words
from wilder days

I yearn for the strength

that can heal the wounds
from a reckless time
when give and take
could only break
this hungry heart of mine

I only search for kindness now
and rationed passion
that will keep safe
a glowing the slowly
dying
fire

“Lately”first appeared in 1992 in the Summer Edition of The New Press

Bieke Stengos grew up in Flanders, Belgium. She came to Canada as a young adult and adopted the English language. She lives in Guelph, Ontario, where she and her husband raised three children. Between work and raising a family, Bieke attempted to honour her creative impulse. Amongst the jobs that had their deepest impact on her were a stint at a home for developmentally delayed adults and a decade and a half at a couple of shelters for abused women and their children.

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