Sunrise
A new sun rises over the quiet horizon
bearing only light this time. There is no room
on each wavelength to carry love.
Her hair’s falling out,
each strand waiting in line for
Earth’s gravity to take hold of them.
Her face isn’t what it used to look like,
the youth sucked out of her skin
at the ripe age of a little over thirty.
She never married, but at least she has
someone who loves her; a humble Jamaican man
bringing her aloe drinks and coconut candy
to make her existence somewhat bearable.
Mi hermano is having trouble finding a job
in a world where experience from
naive college grads is somehow
justified, as if
God had given his stamp of approval
on all of this.
He’s doing the work around the house
that I used to do; he’s depressed.
I’m almost home, bud. Hang in there.
The girls are starting to understand
her condition… what cancer is.
The little one cries that she’s lonely.
The older one is going to have
her heart broken before the age of nine.
I don’t know how Abuelita is taking it all,
but she’s a strong woman. Despite all this,
she’s coming to the conclusion
that her time with us
might be over no sooner than the next
sunset of my life.
I cannot fail these good people.
I owe them everything.
It’s going to be a long day.