Long Distance (a poem)

Long Distance
by Justine Camacho-Tajonera

I wave at my brother
who appears on the screen
and remember the crabs
he cooked for me
the day I left.

These distances are necessary,
long, hard and cold.

My niece learns to speak,
far away and yet there
in front of me,
forgetting my touch
but not my face.

My brother's familiar
voice, teasing me
as if I am an arm's length
away
comforts me.

But I remember
hugging him
the day I left.
I remember
his tears.

These distances are covered
in dollars, pain and longing.