By Jess
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Dearly beloved, normally we sit and gather today,
The Mexican, not American way,
Modelo, arroz, tamales, buñuelos, chips y pico, tres leches, and flan,
Café Bustelo, Maxwell House, café de leche, full fat,
“Abuela, that’s too much fat, your sugar,”
“Mija, tu novio…. getting too skinny, that’s why,”
My curls, aged and amber now, still quietly sit next to him and his Maxwell House.
At the wooden table where he used to read The Express,
My bouncy curls, bouncing the culture section, for the ballets and operas we can’t afford.
The Mexican, not American way,
The mesquite still smokes the smell of ham, pavo, the dogs bark relentless, round and round,
Papas, extra salt,
Dearly beloved, you should be here today,
Sneaking empanada fillings you hate folding,
In Speeder-man pajamas,
Tuning out old stories of old Mexico.
Asking “does it have to be Elvis again?”
Sneaking my headphones like piñna in the folded dough filling you hate,
For Un verano sin ti.
Veg culled from the land with our hands, seasoned with our back breaks and wrist aches,
Quietly singing and praying to rooted land, no more cuts on our hands,
Dearly Beloved, are you eating today?
In that cold gray cage?
Is it white people bread and yellow square cheese?
American, not Mexican way
Mijo, do you want my headphones? For DTMF,
You don’t have to do the folds and filling,
You can even have a small sip of Modelo in front of the game,
And I’ll make sure to clean your face from masa and horchata.
Dearly Beloved,
There will be no gathering today,
Till the whole family is freed from our chains.
Jess is a Mexican American / Arab heritage writer, poet and human rights activist from South Texas. She has been published by the International Human Rights Movement, Missing Perspectives and most recently in Al-Rawiya. She has forthcoming work in Tough Poets, Deceleration Magazine and The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention. Her work focuses on intergenerational traume, genocide and community restoration through narrative. She is a 2025 PEN / Pushcart Prize nominee.