Snapshots of my Family

Snapshots of my Family

1

Under Khruschev’s threats,

I squeeze my mother’s right hand --

the end of the world.

2

Near the poinsettias

my first kiss, fight, cigarette

at the Christmas fair.

3

High school entrance test,

Sweat drips on my wooden desk--

the scent of failure.

4

In high school I learn

our history from masters,

and to hate myself.

5

At Key West Harbor

I stare past the Royal palms

at my lost homeland.

6

Running through the rain,

scent of chlorine around me--

a brown-eyed girl waits.

7

At Costa del Sol

near a lake ringed with lilies

I make a promise.

8

Atop Mount Sinai

I swaddle our firstborn child

In blue and white sheets.

9

Maternity ward

the child with my mother’s hair

won't let go my hand.

10

After nine hard months

a boy with my father’s legs

screams into the world.

11

The family plot--

my father’s quarrel with God

goes on with the earth..

12

At the Hoover Dam

the River of Heaven winds

through the painted rocks.

13

Somewhere in Sanford

my mother’s body is one

with an old live oak.