Heritage

“Sloe Gin” can be seen as an intergenerational poem in which the speaker engages with a family member across time through sensory connection. The speaker begins by detailing the process of infusing the gin: “She fed gin to sloes / and sealed the glass container” (Lines 3-4). In the following line, the speaker reopens the jar to smell the concoction. Narratively, this suggests one action immediately following another; in reality, however, there would be an interim of at least a few months, possibly years, passing between these two stanzas. This shows how easily the speaker can connect with the past through this one simple action. The movement of opening the jar releases an intense scent of the outdoors, bringing another time and place into the present as if the speaker were there in that moment.

In the final stanza, the speaker samples the gin and toasts the...