ending with a line from Nikki Giovanni
If you, for a second, can put away the dead
you’ll see: always the extra candy Uncle M
brought for you & your sisters
because he, too, missed your mother.
No complaints of too young & too much
sugar, the stacks of lollipops & tootsie rolls
shaped into dinner. Praise the days before
the family fled each other, everyone gathered
in the backyard, birdie zipping from racket
to racket, ice cold Cola in your Auntie P’s stern
hands waiting inside, the night fading to night
fireflies sparkling the dying grill.
Even if you didn’t have one, someone’s door
always open, a drink ready at the table.