The Short Story

i. Bowie Bakery artifact
ii. Front Door
iii.  Living Room Clock
iv. Grandpa’s House

i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
a bag of eggs, tomatoes, onions, beans, coffee,
sweet Mexican bread
towards Niles St

a house as tiny as I remember,
greeted by a Mexican Palm 
stretching 12 meters into the sky
85 square-meters gated in metal and concrete stone 
walls decorated with stray cats

Grandpa’s house
memories dressed in stucco,
the color of desert sand

bright sky blue upon front entry
spilling from the outside in
up towards the ceilings

disrupted by conduits
ornate clocks, cowboy hats, family portraits 
pressed up against blue walls, as if they are floating in the sky

southbound trains
rumble the tile work beneath my feet 
irregular transitions 
toward the kitchen 
bright cactus green on the walls

Dr. Pepper and fresh pecans 
bitter, earthy, crumbly if I were to crack them, catching a lick of its outer shell
Sweet, smooth, and buttery if Grandpa were to crack them 
another irregular transition
dark cactus green

Backyard scrap yard
Porcelain toilet, deconstructed washing machine 
aluminum cans buried beneath the dirt
 work boots and paint cans, live with prickly pears, and  roosters

© 2025 Naheyla Medina