Ceramics, 11” x 8” x 10”

Celine’s Black Box

By Melinda Hemmelgam

The year: 1918
My grandmother, 25
boards the Lafayette
the ship that would cross the Atlantic 
from France to Ellis Island 
holding promise. 

On her hip, at her breast
her infant, my father.

I wonder how
she managed the diapering. 

Among her belongings
a black lacquered box
4 ½  x  2 ½, imprinted:
Fils Au Chinois,
meaning: a waxed linen thread renowned
for its strength and durability -
the traits of immigrants.

Her box rests with me now
a remnant of tragedy.

At 32, committed, institutionalized
torn from her children.

Yet hushed, we never spoke 
of her demise.