[New post] Caring For a Father’s Body and the Sacredness of Family

Danielle Jackson posted: "In a stunning lyrical essay for Unruly Bodies, Roxane Gay's pop-up magazine published on Medium, poet Kima Jones tells a moving story about caring for her father from a distance, then in person, as his body declines from diabetes and the difficulty of a l" New post on Longreads Caring For a Father’s Body and the Sacredness of Family by Danielle Jackson In a stunning lyrical essay for Unruly Bodies, Roxane Gay's pop-up magazine published on Medium, poet Kima Jones tells a moving story about caring for her father from a distance, then in person, as his body declines from diabetes and the difficulty of a life lived apart from loved ones. We loved him, so we sent candy. We loved him. We did not want him to be hungry, because we loved him, so we sent salmon, and good tuna, albacore. We loved him, so we sent him mackerel and Pop-Tarts. We sent green peppers for seasoning. We sent Sazon and Adobo packets. We sent Tang. We sent turkey pepperoni. We loved you, so we we sent oodles and noodles. We sent bread. We sent cashews and pistachios, we sent cold cuts, we sent potato chips, we sent raisins, we sent cookies, we sent pretzels, we sent cheese twists, we love you, we sent brownies, we sent crackers, we sent chocolate bars, we sent kidney beans, we sent creamed corn, we sent corned beef, we love you, we will see you soon, not much more time, parole hearing, we love you, we sent your favorite, we sent Twizzlers, we sent cigarettes for you to sell, we sent nudie mags for you to sell, we love you, we sent the winter boots, we sent the winter jacket, we sent another blanket but they sent it back, we love you. They said less salt. We love you, the doctor said less sugar. We love you we sent a hoodie, we sent long johns, we sent new sneakers, we love you, we sent compression socks, we love you. Doctor say you got Sugar. Doctor say insulin. Doctor say Lasix. We love you here you go. We sent what you asked for. We'll be there this weekend. We'll bring change for the vending machine. We have single dollars for Polaroids. I will wear a khimar. We love you we cooked. We love you fat. We love you full. We won't let them starve you. We love you. We set aside money for your package we love you. We sent Ovaltine, we sent V8, we sent a tin of butter cookies we love you. We love you. We cooked for the visit. We will eat like a family. We made stewed chicken, fried cabbage, rice and peas, plantains we love you we love you we love you. We will be there on time. We won't leave until the guard blows his whistle. Even then until he calls out your name. And not even then, not until he comes over to our table, taps it with his fingers, and says, "Alameen, enough." Read the story   Danielle Jackson | May 18, 2018 at 1:00 pm | Tags: families, family, grief, Kima Jones, medium, roxane gay, Unruly Bodies | Categories: culture, Editor's Pick, Essays & Criticism, Highlight, Quotes | URL: https://wp.me/p4KhvY-rGM Like Unsubscribe to no longer receive posts from Longreads. Change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions. Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://longreads.com/2018/05/18/caring-for-a-fathers-body-and-the-sacredness-of-family/ Thanks for flying with WordPress.com