One Long Night
Coping.
We are haunted
by her absence.
Mother
dearest matriarchal keeper
nursing a mug of ginger tea
It hasn’t reached her lips yet.
Father
the emotional watchmen
scribbling indecipherable letters
furiously editing their illegible paragraphs
Our home is haunted
by her absence
Lovely sister
the sorceress of paper dolls and tag
occupies herself with braiding Miss Sherry’s hair
her back slightly bent, guarding her side of the room.
Tender brother
a growing boy of stone-cold expressions
grumbles in bed, throwing his tattered baseball
into the stilted air of his confined space, a suffocating chasm.
This town is haunted
by her absence.
Grandmama and grandpapa
inevitably showcase their portfolio of gifts
savory dishes and simple cleaning hacks
and the timid, breathtaking magic within
their fragile, paper-thin hands
crinkling at their children and children’s children’s
violently-trembling heads
This town
This house
This family
is haunted
by violently-trembling weeping.
Author’s Note: This poem was inspired by Anthonette Cayedito, a nine-year girl in Gallup, New Mexico, who disappeared in 1986 and remains missing to this day. I’m not here to hypothesize or theorize what happened or who’s responsible. This poem’s intent was to place myself in their shoes, to understand and empathize. Anthonette’s tragic disappearance has preoccupied my mind for years since I heard and read about her case, and it’s heartbreaking to say she has practically been forgotten due to so few leads in the investigation. I wish not to appropriate a tragedy or indulge in the…
