Green Card Meal
- Green Card Meal
I do not believe in wives, the official says, who do
not cook. As he looks down, I see the glowing island
of scalp where his hair is fading. He turns our forms, photos, and
copies with the tips of his fingers, with his smudged fingernails.
I try to think of a recipe, get stuck on “rice and beans,”
try not to joke about boiling water or burning toast.
How do you eat? the official asks, making a tent of his fingers,
looking out the window. I smell his musty Old Spice from across
the desk. Beside me, my husband starts to tremble. [End Page 130]
Christine Hamm is a PhD candidate in English literature at Drew University. She won the MiPoesias First Annual Chapbook Competition with her manuscript, Children Having Trouble with Meat. Nominated twice for a Pushcart Prize, she teaches English at the City University of New York. The Transparent Dinner, her book of poems, was published by Mayapple Press in 2006 and her second book, Saints & Cannibals, is due out this spring. [End Page 131]
