Pork Chops or Chicken in Salsa by Manuel Figueroa

Pork Chops or Chicken in Salsa

I remember the meals
that were so tasty.
How did she do that?
I can make a new meal from scratch now,And it doesn’t really taste bad, at all.

How did she make that delicious meal?
I would peel the potatoes and she would
get a pot and put the potatoes, tomato sauce, add water, Sausage, a little garlic clove, green olives, and either pork chops or chicken breast strips. And then, there were other items she added. What were those additional spices?

I use Sazon, and salt and pepper now.You know, it’s not the same. But really, what is?

Manuel Figueroa is retired from the electrical profession. One of Manuel’s biggest joys is playing music with his family, specifically the trumpet and keyboard. Composing music, writing, and performing have been a source of inspiration and contentment for Manuel. Manuel says, “Each step we take should reflect our learned lessons and use them as each day brings forth new opportunities.”

Grief is Hardest on the Dog by Christina Gessler

I’m in the flu-like stage of grief

where it takes me too long to get out of my pajamas and talk myself into the shower,

so the dog’s walks are always late.

I fall asleep unexpectedly and early, and I awake the same way—when it’s too dark and too quiet to do any awake things,

so it’s like I’m here but on London time

which is only something a grief-stricken person

or an inept world traveler would understand.

My dog does not understand because animals live in predictable cycles,

so he gathers twigs and garden debris to taste-test when his dish is empty

and today he taught himself to climb the pantry shelves

for a disappointing journey through my canned goods.

I appreciate his effort

so much that I shower and dress and dump the twigs from his dish and leash him

for a walk around the block that tires us both.

It will get better soon, I tell him.

It’s the first lie I’ve ever told him.

I have no control over when this will get better.

All I can do is take

step

after

step

until we’ve gone full circle back to our garden gate.

All I can do is know that some days that’s enough. Some days that a lot:

the walk

the sky

the fresh air

and someone to share it with.

Christina Gessler saw an ad on TV that said Hospice of Santa Barbara offered grief counseling. Christina called HSB the next morning. HSB matched her with a Hospice counselor, and offered her a spot in Perie Longo’s Healing Through Poetry group. Christina wrote the poem below a few weeks after her father died.