Words of Fire
Christmas Eve, 1984, “Motel X”

It’s 10 p.m. when the taxi glides
into the rain-slicked parking lot.
A woman in slippers gets out
bundling a baby in her arms.
Next, comes a small boy dragging a shopping bag
filled with a jumble of clothes.
“Your room is Number 9,” I say pointing,
and the woman hurries towards it.
As we follow, I lift the bag from the boy,
his face and neck dark with bruises.
When we reach the door, he stops, asks,
“Will he find us here?”
I want to say, No, honey,
that bastard will never find you here.
Instead, I whisper, “Who?”
His voice, a twist of worry and hope, he says,
“Santa.”
Cece Peri’s poems have appeared in Gift of Words: Poems for the Iraqi People; Luvina: Los Angeles Issue (University of Guadalajara); Speechless the Magazine; NoirCon 2010 and NoirCon 2012 (Busted Flush Press), and Malpais Review. During the Reagan era, she worked as a crisis counselor in women’s shelters and community health centers.

-
Latest NewsMay 22, 2025
Trump Touts ‘No Tax on Overtime.’ But He Just Made It Harder for Millions to Earn Overtime.
-
Column - State of InequalityMay 22, 2025
The Great Food Bank Robbery: Hungry Californians Face Losing Their Daily Bread
-
Column - State of InequalityMay 29, 2025
Ambulance Chaser: Can Gov. Newsom Siphon Off Medi-Cal Funding to Balance Budget?
-
Latest NewsJune 17, 2025
A Coal Miner’s Daughter Takes on DOGE to Protect Miners’ Health
-
Latest NewsMay 27, 2025
California Interscholastic Federation Changes Rules for Track & Field Championships After Trump Tweet
-
Column - State of InequalityJune 5, 2025
Budget Cuts Threaten In-Home Assistance Workers and Medi-Cal Recipients
-
Beyond the BorderJune 10, 2025
Detained Man Says ICE Isn’t Treating His Colon Cancer
-
Beyond the BorderMay 23, 2025
ICE Detains People After Immigration Court Hearings in Nationwide Operation