Jenny Morse is a PhD candidate at the University of Illinois-Chicago. In her free time she tries to travel as much as possible and will complete her visits to all 50 US states this June with Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. her work has been published in Menacing Hedge, flashquake, and The Notre Dame Review.
Neruda’s Neighbor
By Jenny Morse
We rose along a dead end called Santa Maria.
Se me vieran
At the shrine of Mary, we gazed
toward the idea of mountains.
desde arriba
But our descent to Bellavista
left us dizzy and dirty,
so we found Oliver at Las Palmas
and asked for ice cream.
mándame
He chose perfect combinations:
lemon, raspberry, vanilla
manjar, café, tiramisu
chocolate, banana, mint.
un señal
On our last visit Oliver consoled us with fruitcake.
para que
His ice cream seemed to melt at
the door of his shop.
pueda preparar el helado.