Astros Sign Osuna Despite Local Outrage

Iliana Rocha

The idea of its existence is a most unfortunate joke.
Josh Peter

The distance from my mother’s job

at Exxon to her apartment, always walking
with her head down. In the neighborhood,

known for her thick legs & her suspicion.
The distance between suspicion & safety,

distance from safety to silence. The distance
between silences—my mother’s,

mine: love too close to loyalty,
& that’s where we get lost—

wading through intimacy’s alphabet.
Homecoming like a nuclear power plant,

the most vulnerable spot in Texas,
even more so than its heart. Deep in the,

deep in the, deep in the . . . the fans can’t seem
to finish the anthem tonight, four claps

in succession wane like stars
despite the Astros’ lead, & skyscrapers

behind the stadium crowd like middle fingers.