She was only 30.

Cleaning the countertop,
another mother
saw her face
reflected in
all too familiar
domestic puppets:
a knife
a spoon
a fork
a National Latin Exam medal
an employer-of-the-month badge
a wedding ring.

A random bouquet of reflective surfaces,
Slippery stages onto which
she still performs –
diminutively.

It has started to smell divine:
Peach pie and roasted pecans
Garlic & prosciutto plait
And the main dish: Sylvia.

What followed their 20’s was
an intense churning:
“The woman is perfected.
Her dead

Body wears the smile of accomplishment,
The illusion of a Greek necessity.”

Dinner is served!
Bring napkins.

Dr. Catalina Florina Florescu has a PhD in Comparative Literature with a focus on Medical Humanities. She teaches honors, community learning, undergraduate courses at Pace University, and graduate seminars at Stevens Institute of Technology. She is a working mother of a beautiful young adult son. She has published academic and creative books, including a memoir, a trilogy on breast cancer, and a volume about Englishes and immigration. http://www.catalinaflorescu.com/