Sangiving / THaNGks'giviNG/, by Patricia Coral

Mi abuela teaches my brother la brujería de la cocina. I read a

novella on the kitchen table. Calderos and spoons clashing,

sofrito sizzling. The smell of recao dancing in the air. She shares

the tricks of achiote, fried pork inside arroz con gandules,

mofongo de yuca stuffing. Un poquito de aceite, un chispito de

sal, on a tiny bowl machaca un ajito, stir the rice y bájale la luz,

pruébame esto to see how it tastes. Maybe one day I’ll regret not

cutting onions, peeling yuccas, crushing garlic.

Patricia Coral is a bilingual Puerto Rican writer, nonprofit leader, and MFA candidate at American University. She writes creative nonfiction and poetry, but frequently her words find their home in-between. Her work has been featured in Fireside Fiction, Mirar pa’ dentro, Voices and Verses, and Crab Fat Magazine, among others.