by Guillermo Filice Castro
let your aunt amble in
looking as she did in her 50’s
let her return to the front patio
of the house she never owned but loved
let her talk about past holidays
tables filled with cider and panettone
let her say nothing as you watch her
bob cut reach stillness in the light
and do not kid yourself
you can order her an Uber
as you are a kid yourself
with no money or smart phone
so when the time comes
walk her to the old Olivos station
let her climb into the dining car
settle into a creaking straw seat
let the cold sting you
with its perfume
let the little girl suddenly at your side
on the platform
grab your hand and tell you
I’m your sister
Guillermo Filice Castro is a queer poet and photographer. He’s the author of the chapbooks “Mixtape for a War” (Seven Kitchens Press) and “Agua, Fuego” (Finishing Line Press). His work appears in Allium, Barrow Street, The Brooklyn Rail, Columbia Poetry Review, Court Green, Fugue, Impossible Archetype, The Normal School, Pine Hills Review and many more. He’s the recipient of an E-S-B fellowship from the St. Mark’s Poetry Project. Born and raised in Argentina, he resides in New Jersey with his husband and two cats.
Photo credit Mark Papellero