BIO
Faith Gómez Clark (She/They) was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. They earned their MFA in Creative Writing from the Warren Wilson College MFA Program for Writers. They teach English courses at the University of the Incarnate Word.
Instagram handle: @faithgomezclark
Grocery store
Standing in the rear of the cart
exactly how the label warns not to,
cornsilk curls pulled back, my son
screams, turns to face me, then
mocking me, raises one tiny porcelain
forefinger to his strawberry-stained lips
and nods, his eyes a blue basket full
of mischief. Holds out his hand—
trades silence for strawberries.
When the woman approaches, I think
at first she’s mistaken me for someone
she knows. Her skin coffee-creamer white
and just as cold—her hand skims
the brown of my skin How long have you
been caring for the child? Trustworthy help
is hard to find these days and he likes you,
I can tell and suddenly I am the child
unable to speak for myself, with only
my silence to exchange, but for what?
My son, grown impatient, starts to scream.
I pull his angry body from the cart
and swallow him with my embrace.