The samovar sits on a table
in my living room like a shrine.
Almost two feet tall
with a chimney on top,
common for tea-making
in 19th century Russian households
and taverns.
The story is—
this antique brass urn
was carried from Russia
as a lucky charm
at the turn of the 20th century
by a young man, an ancestor
longing for freedom,
opportunity in a new land.
Years later, a cousin I had met
on Ancestry packed up this possession
of her mother’s uncle (the ancestor).
Displayed for decades
in her living room,
previously in her parents’ home,
the golden samovar traveled
in planes and trucks
across the country to me.
One hundred and fifteen years
after arriving at Ellis Island
wrapped inside my ancestor’s belongings
with feet and handles,
a bulging belly like a Buddha,
and an ornate faucet,
this stately smooth vessel
sits in my living room,
.
.
by Lois Perch Villemaire
Lois Perch Villemaire is the author of “My Eight Greats,” a family history in poetry and prose published in 2023. Her work has appeared in such places as Blue Mountain Review, Ekphrastic Review, One Art: A Journal of Poetry, Pen In Hand, Topical Poetry, Post Grad Journal, and an anthology entitled I Am My Father’s Daughter. She lives in Annapolis, MD.
