I was told she was built of patience and an
accidental pink Afro, that she raised a son
armed with knitting needles and the whisper
of welfare as we lost a faceless man to the
vines that choke the family tree. She passed
before I could know her but I have seen her
leaves in the curl of my father's kindnesses
and sweaters worn when autumn shakes
out its branches, in the lost antique spoon
collection and the eternal photo set on a
nightstand, wiped daily by a man who told me
once my grandmother taught him everything about
fatherhood. And yet I have felt her, trailing like
ivy through the reams of my life.

"Nostalgia" is a finalist of Peel Street Poetry's Slam Poetry Contest 2015. About Megan Hills: Born and raised in Hong Kong, Megan Hills is a freelance writer and recent graduate of the University of Warwick's BA English and Creative Writing programme. Her poetry has been published in Write Bloody's We Will Be Shelter anthology (edited by Andrea Gibson) and she has contributed to numerous lifestyle verticals including The Culture Trip, SOY Journal and Sassy Hong Kong. She also blogs about travel and culture over at Give Me Chills and can normally be found cuddling her elderly puppy at home. [Read more about Peel Street Poetry] [Back to Peel Street Poetry poems]