Poem: "Chiles Rellenos de Picadillo con Arroz y Salsa de Roja"

by Reinna Brummett-Swayze

(*warning* May be triggering for some readers)

The plate clattered loudly when I set it on the table.

I dared not lift my eyes to see if it had upset him.

Instead, I kept my eyes on the plate even as the

heat from the poblanos rose like a tide and drowned them.

The poblanos, how I mourned for them. Plucked from their home

and the last traces of the earth scrubbed from their skin.

They were cut open so that what he desired can be put in,

Forced to be filled with what was not wanted or asked for.

All so they could be served to him.

On the outside the poblanos were covered in thin flaky breading

that glistened with oil and salt, beautiful for all those who saw.

On the inside, their core had been ripped out to appease him.

They are now laying on a bed of toothsome white arroz.

I quickly walked back to the kitchen not wanting to make him wait.

When I walked I felt them, the heavy chains attached to my body

that no one could see. Their weight made my body ache

but I moved forward anyway. I gently grabbed the bowl of salsa de roja

and my own food and set them at the table.

I looked at him. He sat there awaiting something with

patience growing thin behind his eyes. I then ladled the salsa de roja

gently onto the poblanos as to not damage their cover.

The sauce was my blood, smooth, rich, and a deep red that hid a fire.

He begin to inhale the food with the breath like a god of wind,

Unending. I took my seat across from him, and quietly ate

avoiding the peppers and sauce, only eating the rice.

Suddenly a sharp cough and a wheeze rang out.

He slammed his hand to the table and the plates once again clattered loudly.

His head lifted and for the first time he saw me.

His gaze reached for me across the table as he extended a hand

I sat there and continued to quietly eat

avoiding the peppers and sauce, only eating the rice.

He soon tumbled to the ground, the plate of peppers falling with him.

When his wheezing stopped I got up from my seat and

I scooped the fallen peppers onto my plate.

I took them outside and laid them in the earth.

They may be cut, worn, raped, and dying but they are now without their chains.

As am I.

Reinna Brummett-Swayze will graduate in 2024 with a double major in Marine Biology and English (creative writing).