Cancer In The Duplex
after Jericho Brown
Each word of my eulogy lingers.
Punctuation carries the most weight.
Punctuation holds most weight in the mouth.
My tongue untangles from its sentences.
Tongue untangles inch by inch from silence.
Survivors’ guilt is deafening today.
Survivors’ guilt overshadows gratitude.
How do I hold my body accountable?
How do I hold Judas accountable?
I stagger from his untimely kiss.
Still reeling from his untimely kiss,
Death is thick, and seconds are heavy.
Hours are swift, and death tenacious.
Each word of my eulogy lingers.
Rocío Franco is a Chicana poet from Chicago. She holds fellowships from The Watering Hole, Roots, Wounds, Words, and Periplus. She’s also an alumnus of Jericho Brown’s workshop at the Lighthouse and VONA. She is a Best of the Net nominee, and her poetry has been taught to high schoolers in New York. Her poems have appeared in The Acentos Review, Chicago Reader, the Exposition Review, La Libreta, Snapdragon Journal, Newcity Magazine, and others. She works full-time at a union health fund and strongly believes in universal healthcare. She loves exploring her city with her family and practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
