Charity E. Yoro

in the aftermath of thirty four
nov 2020

a box is delivered on our doorstep. can of spam and a bar of fancy chocolate. no note. i don’t
think twice, i trust anyone who sends me spam, take two bites of the chocolate before bed. it’s
been a week, and it’s only 9:32 p.m. on a tuesday. mom is visiting, so we’re chatting on the
couch. then it hits me. five minutes in and icantfuckingbreathe OHMYGODCOVID. now mom is
touching my forehead with too cold hands, everything feels cold actually and distant and
connected at the same time. and ohshit. my brother. we talked. on the phone. the other day. he
asked me. what did he ask me? the couch is too fucking coarse. the christmas lights are
twinkling. ohmygod it’s SOBEAUTIFUL. i love the word TWINKLING. and anyway

what is
night?

stiff sheets can’t shake this cold, her voice can’t take

hold me
i can’t feel

the hair on his back stroking, giggling

soft soooooft soft fttttttt faux wool pillow fort of love

“i don’t think you have COVID”

“what did you eat?”
Giggling

“i’m texting your brother”
“you FORGOT he sent you what?!”

“how much did you have?”

hysterically laughing

“well, yeah, you’re not sleeping tonight.”

“can you please go write a poem or something?”

tall luminous being laugh write the story before it’s even ended cry i don’t have to be perfect in
this world laugh everything is connected laughcrylaugh i love it all & the moon doesn’t feel cold
swaddled in my big girl’s robe w/ the neighbor’s twinkling lights & the cat purring wide-eyed like
me at my bare feet on wednesday morning at 4 a.m. [when my brother calls me frantic the next
morning, thinking something went horribly wrong, that maybe i forgot our conversation (i did)
and fed the chocolate to my daughter (i didn’t) i thank him for the best birthday present in years,
maybe ever]

Charity E. Yoro (she/her) is a steward of words and other beings. Born, raised, and educated on the east side of O‘ahu, she currently lives in the Pacific Northwest with her wild, loving family. Her debut poetry collection ten-cent flower & other territories (First Matter Press, 2023) is a 2025 Oregon Book Award Finalist.