Sisters by Ayelet Tsabari
CBC Books | CBC | Posted: November 8, 2017 1:40 PM | Last Updated: November 8, 2017
2017 CBC Poetry Prize longlist
Ayelet Tsabari has made the 2017 CBC Poetry Prize for Sisters.
About Ayelet
Ayelet Tsabari was born in Israel to a large family of Yemeni descent. Her first book, The Best Place on Earth, won the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature and the Edward Lewis Wallant Award. She is a graduate of the creative writing MFA program at the University of Guelph and lives in Toronto.
Entry in five-ish words
Sisterly love, secrets and regret
The poem's source of inspiration
"Years ago I spent an amazing summer with my sister who was visiting from Israel, but it was overshadowed by a secret I couldn't bring myself to tell her. I have been plagued by regret over my actions ever since, despite the fact that she'd forgiven me long ago."
First line
I should have told you in that synagogue in Montreal
during our brother's wedding to a girl from Hampstead.
Our entire family had flown over from Israel, unabashed and un-Canadian,
me from Vancouver; you, from your once-in-a-lifetime backpacking trip to India.
during our brother's wedding to a girl from Hampstead.
Our entire family had flown over from Israel, unabashed and un-Canadian,
me from Vancouver; you, from your once-in-a-lifetime backpacking trip to India.