2006 SECOND PLACE

WHEN THEY GREW UP
Cam Congleton
15 years old, North Carolina

When they were young,
they hated the Jews.
They hated the Blacks,
the Mexicans, and
to a lesser extent,
the Guineas next door.

Now grown, two brothers, two sisters,
they have in their loves
branched out,
like the four points of a compass.
Richard married a Black woman,
Colleen a Jew,
Katie an Italian,
and Pete a lovely Puerto Rican woman.

Eating is interesting.
When my aunts and uncles visit,
with their spouses and children,
Katie and Pete cook us
okra, yellow rice, and baked beans.
That’s what we eat all the time.

At Pete and Evita’s
Leslie and I feast on antipasto,
cabbage and roast pork;
their children give us small piñatas,
filled with coconut candies.
Katie and Tom prepare us calamari and coleslaw;
Colleen and Howard like to feed us
brisket and collards.
We are, now, an international family,
none of them longing
for the Jew- and Spic-hating
days of our youth.
How lucky they are,
to be married into the world.