Facing coconut fronds I sit
on the balcony
in my sweltering hometown
Pleasant morning already
beginning to blister, barely
pacified by the breeze
I come across your name
in the author bios of a journal
I have had no luck with
Settled pain rises
with the calling card of your name
like the rosary of my childhood
flooding back
barely bidden by a Hail Mary
Resurrecting history
moistening my eyes

…

Carol D’Souza is a lover of chai.