PLANTED PALMS
Poem by Elodia Esperanza Benitez
The sun rises East
Bringing up people who make the day
By toil of soil
Laid claim to by others
My Mother came up
to plant a palm tree in my Nana’s yard
Kissed each open hand leaf
And left to tend other gardens
Nana brought out her plastic chair
To hold vigil with the little palm
Green cut garden hose spouting out gentle admonitions
To us children playing in its wake
Nana spoke life to will the tree grow
And we all paused to sit curbside
Dyeing our teeth with raspberry raspados
Eyes trained on her in all her flowered apron glory
Willing her to stay
The sun descended West
Laying people to rest
Nana stood with a sermon sigh
“The palm was brought here
Planted without ceremony
And will still grow tall enough to greet the sun
Now that I’ve watered the roots.
