In my father’s body shop, the dual
action air sander’s muffled screams
drown out the pain of the country
music station. Within the cloud
of Daytona paint particles, I strip
the luster off a Chevy’s fender.
And within a fog of questions
I wonder if the cerulean I see
is the same color as my mother’s ocean.
If the ancestors I seek would recognize
the color of the blood within my veins.
But a breeze pushes the clouds
above my head to the once white, now
gray fiberglass batt on the ceiling.
Beneath that storm cloud, I wait
for my father to tell me
I can go home.
Everett Cruz (he, they) lives and teaches in Denton, Texas, where he studies creative writing at the University of North Texas. He is a Filipino-American who grew up in Fort Worth, Texas. His work has been or will be published in Brave Voices, The Bitchin’ Kitsch, Resurrection Magazine, Marías at Sampaguitas, Stanza Cannon, and Five South. Twitter @EverettCruzIsOK
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