Will They Be
Serving Seconds?
fatima espiritu
82
Hiding from grace in the bathroom at the family’s holiday
reunion BLESS US O LORD with the hand soap decorated
FOR THESE THY GIFTS like a seashore with the yellow
fish WHICH WE ARE ABOUT TO RECEIVE and the scale
that stops FROM THY BOUNTY short
of the weight THROUGH CHRIST
OUR LORD of the heaviest
person in the house. They are
loud AMEN they have strong
arms; the great uncles
rest hands on my shoulders
after every graduation PRAISE THE LORD and sometimes
funerals. In the living room, two teams from the same
state play against one another on the screen.
The cousins watch; AND PASS quiet-like, they wonder
what nationality is my birth
father. A reliever sometimes comes in for only one
batter. This tells me you’re not paying
attention. Rebuked, the younger one leaves
THE BUTTER the room. I’m surprised
when they know my last name: handwriting
uncautious in cards
with good bills sent sometimes by accident
when I’m gone long enough
that something must’ve happened between this
time and the last. Sure of it,
they seal the envelopes with water
or clear tape.