Hot Water by Martha Christina

Widowed and childless,
he married again; his
second wife, my aunt,
also childless, a
professional woman
before that term was
used. Past child-bearing
age, they lavished
affection and attention
on other people’s children
and on each other. Their
favorite drink: hot
water, with a splash
of top milk, a scant
teaspoon of sugar

added to each cup.
Comfortable, they were
also well-past the rural
poverty they’d worked
their way out of. Even
so, with Starbucks
within our means,
as they liked to say,
they drank hot water,
grateful for every
sweetened swallow.



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.