Día de los Muertos #3

7 days after my sister’s death

this morning i peeled and sliced

a potato into flat crooked rectangles

and uneven triangles

heated cooking oil and dropped

the pieces onto the hot pan

they fried until crispy brown

then i cracked 3 eggs

cooked over easy

the thick yellow orange

yolks were intact

as they awaited the fork’s

puncture that would

create the slow luxurious

release of thick liquid

over the slightly salted

fried potatoes

i warmed a flour tortilla

on the stove’s open flame

flipping it over by hand

feeling the fire nip at

the tips of my fingers

and suddenly it comes to me:

if this were to be my last breakfast

i would die a happy man

dear sister, i hope it was like this

for you on the day you ate your last meal

i hope you smiled and thought to yourself

“damn, this is good”

published in How A Civilization Begins, Mouthfeel Press 2022