Photo: Floyd Evangelista Flores
What’s with the 9th of May
In our lives?
I meant to wake up early
On a Monday
To welcome a whiff
Of air
Called deliverance.
I decided I would do laundry
Tire myself
And struggle with the chores
At the clothesline.
Later in the day
I realized
My grandson and I
Had to cast our votes
For the first time together.
I couldn’t figure out
Why there was heaviness
In the air
As soon as we got
The blue ink
On our forefingers.
My grandson and I
Walked our way home
Hoping against hope
For better days.
But then I could feel
Heaviness in the air.
Early into the night
I stared into nothingness
As the unwelcome news
Became virtual reality.
We cherished
The good in our hearts
Hoping against hope
For deliverance.
After a hopeful Monday
Came the bloody Tuesday.
They are back!
And sumptuous
Days are here again!
It will take time
To process the pain
Of betrayal.
I couldn’t look
At my grandson
Straight in the eye
He who
Voted for the first time.
I am looking
At my last decade
And figuring out
A season of blight
For my grandson.
The dark forces his mother fought
Are back with a vengeance
On the 9th of May.
She was born
On the 29th of May
Which would have been
Her 43rd year.
But on the 9th of May
We buried our hope
Suddenly
I see petals falling
On the casket
Of our dream.
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