Christmas in Florida
by Rachel R. Baum
Dangling from the fishing rod, a leopard spotted creature, smooth scaleless skin, both of us startled by the other; insulted by the hook’s intrusion, it scolds me with worried clicks from its tiny mouth, a solid fence of miniature movie star bright teeth. My father opens his mouth wide, I spoon in rice and beans, when I wipe his chin and fingers with a moist cloth, he doesn’t protest; the rehab center is holiday understaffed, he complains bitterly about meals served cold, the slow response when he presses the call button. He spits his dentures into a plastic tray the aqua color of Florida beach décor, two pink bridges with their cemented teeth swim in foamy water, he is ready to get back into bed, I pace the hallway hunting for a nurse or orderly who can help. Loose on his bruised, bony wrist is a laminated bracelet that reads FALL RISK, he gets impatient, tries to stand on his own, leans too far, scrapes his translucent skin, patched now with bandages date marked in blue ink; despite daily physical therapy, he is not progressing. He wants a shower, he wants attention, he wants to go home. From the pier, I return the fish to the water, it is so still, I fear I have injured it, but then it slides away in curved S turns, until there is only a flotilla of bubbles in the world it leaves behind.
Rachel R. Baum is a Best of the Net nominated poet, editor and blogger. She is the editor of Funeral and Memorial Service Readings, Poems and Tributes (McFarland, 1999), awarded Best Non-Fiction by Today’s Librarian (2000) and still in print. She began writing poetry in 2021, after contracting Covid-19 and never getting better. Since then, over 90 of her poems have appeared in OneArt, Jewish Literary Review, The Phare, Raven’s Perch, Plainsongs, and others. She won the 2021 National Poetry Day Competition (Your Fire Magazine), placed 2nd in the 2022 Shelley Poetry Competition, and took 3rd place in East Ridge Review’s 2022 Three Notch’d Poetry Contest. She was a Finalist for the 2022 Washburn Prize and the 2023 Stephen A. DiBlase Poetry Prize. She has two poetry chapbooks: Richard Brautigan’s Concussion (Bottlecap Press, 2023) and How to Rob a Convenience Store (Cowboy Jamboree Press, 2024). She lives in upstate New York with her dog Tennyson. For more information, visit https://www.rachelrbaum.net.