The Walk to the Gates Katrina Lising editor in chief I enter the gates
With ginger steps
My eyes moist and beady
My face coated with haze
I'm knee deep in clouds
White and plump
Wading barefoot
Like those times the ocean slept
And we were one
I close my eyes
To wake my senses
Exhale a second longer
I walk further and further
Slicing through the frothy air
Cold and tingly
In untamed content
My Lola smiles
She meets me halfway
And catches me in her arms
Her heart beats melodies
Of a childhood lullaby
My Lolo Kalbo
Walks without a cane
His speech, not slurred
But strong--
Like his words
That planted my roots
So I could never fall
My Lolo Melchor
From the picture
Over my Lola's bed
And my father's drawer
The bullet holes healed
Like history
With time and grace
Cloaked in a sturdy white suit
The one with no name
Or too many, my own
My flesh in spirit
I hold it close
And never let go
In a place with no tears
Not even happy ones
I walk to the gates