Pressing
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The living room is haloed Mary, wooden crosses, psalmsthe glass-wrapped candles: tall, thick burn, mingle with incense Hallelujah
I sit on the sofa with the neighbor’s girlsadorned in flouncy Sunday dresses & piety this day is reserved for prayer circles & the women
hail, haw, thumb rosary ropes through calloused fingersthe neighbor’s girls bow their heads, murmur under their breath blessed are you…the fruit
I close my eyes & holding a couch cushion top my lappress thumb to self fervently, moan along is this is this is this prayer
When the circle comes to a close, Mami pulls me to hercatches a whiff of my hand—Jesus, did you bathe today, girl? Go wash, girl & I know this is a hidden thing, wash away thing, pray it out thing
Nightly, when everyone in my house is asleep, watch me roll onto belly,my fingers find me unbidden, with bitten tongue I train myself quiet
I have a knowing about this unstopped need does God watchstop, slow down, speed up, circle, press & pray, & press & pray, press & suppress & pray blessed are you the fruit [End Page 313]
Elizabeth Acevedo was born and raised in New York City, and her writing is infused with both hip hop and the Dominican bolero of her upbringing. She holds a BA in Performing Arts from George Washington University and is currently an MFA candidate at the University of Maryland. Acevedo has been published in The Acentos Review and The Ostrich Review. She is a CantoMundo Fellow and a member of the 2013 Callaloo Creative Writing Workshop. She lives and works in Washington, DC, as a teaching artist for Split This Rock.
