Ubi Caritas
By Cheryl Tan

 

I have heard of charity. I have learned of exalting
oneself, the skill of wet eyes and even wetter

 

plug sockets, brown & unpolicing. Barricade tape
like a festival garland. Amen. Love raised up to

 

outraged skies, humanist dimensions. Soundtracks
of squalls beating up torn fabric. Forgotten

 

constellations map the path from me to you, each
star mourning a different person. Ubi caritas et amor,

 

Deus ibi est. Repeat after me: Where charity and love
are, God is there. In the common lines of spaces,

 

the wrinkles of old buildings, the puddles of
the manholes and the bindis of the aunties. I have

 

never prayed so fervently before. Perhaps prayer is
a pillow lying flat against the floor, chronicling

 

the times it is picked up again. A recording device
pressed over and over. I have heard of charity

 

as always. I have learned the meaning of a home
a sun away, when my own became intolerable

 

for me. Remember me, Lord, as I venture from
your kingdom. Forgive me as I start to

 

lose my way.

 

Cheryl Tan (she/her) is a Singaporean of Chinese and Indian descent. A Free Flash Fiction Competition and Singapore National Poetry Competition winner, she has been published in Ice Lolly Review, Parallax Literary Magazine and Streetcake Magazine, among others. Her work has been nominated for the 2023 Pushcart Prize, and her chapbook “Goddess” is forthcoming on Querencia Press.