Communion
After the stroke our father lost the word
light switch
asked me to
press the wall so a world could open
He couldn’t go to mass so Jesus visited soothed
his gums con el dedo corazón dipped
in red wine
It was not transubstantiation
Did Jesus believe all that anyway?
We rolled a hospital bed
into the room
where he once
composed church songs in Spanish
talked of Easter eggs at City of Rocks
Who carved them? All those nichos?
Said he rode a jackrabbit said
I know you think it’s impossible but
I had a tiny saddle
Saturdays Mother left him
in our care
He lost the words communion
santo
pecado
lamb He lost
a grandson’s name
remembered the daughter
he never claimed
asked why she wasn’t
at breakfast
He made us
lock the door keep out
the naked woman who snuck
into his bedroom at night
He soiled himself as Mother turned
her key in the door
Notes:
This poem is part of the portfolio “The Chorus These Poets Create: Twenty Years of Letras Latinas.” You can read the rest of the portfolio in the December 2024 issue.
Source: Poetry (December 2024)