I mourn you & each method
is more freeing than the last
sometimes I weep & weep
& become kin to the originator of weeping
at times I laugh, my mouth wide, & I’ll remember, thinking
of jokes whilst bathing, that you had undeniably terrible
teeth, & there are the moments when I hum
old reggae songs to myself & sway lightly at bus stops or I sit
behind a plate of chicken wings, devouring, ensuring there’s nothing
on the bone thinking to all of the delicious things you taught me
if life goes
the way I want it to go
I will have more years without you
than with you. in the moment
I realize this, maybe I will be teaching my sons
to crack the ossein, enjoy the marrow, or I’ll be doing
my daughter’s hair in the way you tried, each attempt
ending with my wearing a velvet green hat, yes
I will be doing something soft
& delicate; bending a child’s ear down to slick
each curl to order; will tell them their grandfather, in
his rugged unknowing, did the best
he could, & for that, the blood & whatever
we do with the life made from this blood, is good

Hílda Davis is a Black Costa Rican American writer from Staten Island, New York. She earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from New York University. Her work has been published in Callaloo, The Offing, and elsewhere. She currently lives in Seattle, WA (Duwamish Land) with her family.

Echo Goff is an artist and musician who lives in Troy, New York. Their artwork examines visual and societal hierarchies established by fragmenting historical imagery. They juxtapose sentimental photos, campy objects, Punk symbolism, and motifs from antiquity, making a space within their work for dialogue about classism, nostalgia, and subcultures. They graduated with their AS in Fine Arts from Hudson Valley Community College and their BFA in Painting and Drawing from State University of New York at New Paltz. They’ve shown their work both in solo and group exhibitions, including at The Samuel Dorsky Museum, D&H Historical landmark, and Below Grand gallery In New York City. They’re on the Exhibitions committee for Collar Works Gallery in Troy NY and a teacher at The Arts Center of the Capital Region.