My Dead Relatives
Myrna Nieves

All my loved ones are gone

Those who inhabited my distant town

How I miss

Moment of glance
An enigmatic smile
That contagious laugh
The hand gently placed on a hip
The nodding head
The moment of empath
When I felt loved and accepted

My relatives

Pulsing of life that
Exploded in an instant
Then fade away
Twinkling, flickering
In the air of the times

I will join them one day
I will cross the veil
Between palm trees and flamboyance
I will hang them if they want me to
Or will watch them from afar

Now their memory
And sometimes a shadow passing by, gentle touch, tiny sounds

It’s what I share with them

They left a trace in my days
An unfathomable beauty
A slight sadness

My dead relatives

In effable testimonies
Of the love that permeates
Existence

(She is a writer, editor, and educator, born in Puerto Rico,
recipient of the Literary Award of the PEN Club of
Puerto Rico. )