—the Doppler shows
an apricot wave crown
the bay’s little mouth—my mother
sorting my father’s clothes—
where manatees might drop
to threatened, the radio
reports—her phone won’t load
the weather & won’t I read her
the map—in second grade
science when we charted
the scabs & blisters of the zoo
porpoise—she swears
she only called
because he never wore
these Snoopy pajamas—
Dr. Florida Wildlife
says, “We keep count
by drawing scars”—two
apartments in two states
in two years neighboring
cemeteries—her phone won’t load
the weather—I’m stuck again
following a funeral procession home—

Jessica Guzman Alderman is a Cuban-American writer from southwest Florida and a doctoral student at the University of Southern Mississippi’s Center for Writers. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Normal School, Sonora Review, Meridian, and elsewhere. She reads for Memorious.