Page 70 - GRANADA

content warning: anti-Blackness
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Mis Tias
by Mimi Tempestt
mis tias
let the word “nigger”
drool from their mouths
when my mother isn’t around
only seven years old
i eat at their kitchen tables
checking my arroz for bones before biting
pretending not to know
the bitter smell of cigarettes and chile rellenos linger in their breaths
as i kiss their cheeks for goodbyes
when my mother asks how my visit was,
i only comment on the food
my only memory of them,
good enough to keep