In Sorrow’s Kitchen
after Zora Neal Hurston
Desiree Santana
Cans of carnation cream and crisco,
the grease pots and black skillet grime
hardened after multiple burnings:
This kitchen of reused butter containers
& wishbones on windowsills, as if breaking
them will rid the cabinets of scattering roaches.
Theres some aunt saying: keep touching
til touching doesn’t hurt,
see these hands: like skillet grime
hardened after multiple burnings
Desiree Santana is currently based in the Tidewater region and attends Old Dominion University. She is the recipient of the 2021 Dickseski Fiction Prize and the 2022 Academy of American Poets Prize. Her work appears in storySouth, BreakBread Magazine and is forthcoming elsewhere.