Clap When You Land

by Elizabeth Acevedo

I never stopped being my parents’ steady daughter. Who did her chores & bothered no one. Even now, that is not a habit I know how to break. I take down the trash. I microwave the leftovers. I wrap myself tight around the feelings I cannot share, an unopened present, a gift no one wants.

hugs me tightly, her swollen belly between us, but I quickly pull away. I am afraid that I would break her. Am afraid that I would break.