My Older Sister Remembers by Martha Christina

Before I was born, our father
set up a ping-pong table
in the hall outside his office
at the school where he was
the principal. They both
laughed and laughed as he
taught her how to play.

By the time I was old enough
to go to that school, our father
had the same job, but he was
not the same man; our family
was not the same family.

Our mother recovered, physically,
from a case of encephalitis, but
her memory was affected, and her
moods became erratic: she was
quick-tempered, often violent;
sometimes catatonic. Ping-pong
or any light-hearted diversion,
only someone else’s memory.



Martha Christina has published two collections: Staying Found (Fleur-de-lis Press) and Against Detachment (Pecan Grove Press). Her work appears in earlier issues of Red Eft Review, and recently in Star 82 Review, Crab Orchard Review, and Tiny Seed Journal. Born and raised in Indiana, she now lives in Bristol, Rhode Island.