Four Years After Diagnosis

Suddenly, rain. Our heads
bowed together like monks
in this hot green place.

I study the slow script
of her movements. The cross
and uncross of her legs,

fingers forking together,
pulling apart. Secret dialect
of her face—a firefly flick

in the iris, lips curling
like kelp. Speak, mother.
Your daughter is listening.

Credit

Author

Angela Narciso Torres

Angela Narciso Torres is the author of Blood Orange (Aquarius Press, 2013), winner of the Willow Books Literature Award for Poetry. She is the recipient of fellowships from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Illinois Arts Council, and the Ragdale Foundation. She is the poetry editor at RHINO and a publicity coordinator for Woman Made Gallery Literary Events. She lives in South Florida.

Date Published

01/08/2019