Writer's Digestion

“Brothers are knit together.” -Robert Rivers One of the benefits of remarrying is you get to have two “best man’s”. In my first wedding, my younger brother, Tim was away on a mission, so I could not choose him, but he was able to be here to play that role, my second time around. We were not taught to speak Spanish at home, but we did develop our own second language: movie quotes. So, I learned from a young age to master this form of communication.  Before Tim, I was the youngest. I lounge alone in my mother’s shopping cart, looking up, being pushed around the supermarket, letting my mind wander. After, he came, l had to share the cart, and eventually, walk.  While pregnant with Tim, (I remember) my mother being stopped in the store on the regular, as I’m sure she has been stopped for the 10 dispersed years that she has been pregnant in her lifetime. The regular questions. “Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?” or “What number is this?” Or “When are you expecting?” That one bu...

"Mom, I was born a monkey, right?" Rebekah (sister). There’s a popular song from my youth that goes, “it ain’t about how fast I get there/ it ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side/ it’s the climb” ( The Climb ). Individually, with friends and as a family affair, I have always loved climbing. Mountains, trees, rocks, buildings. Kids want to be tall like their older siblings, like their parents. See things up high. As Nacho Libre says, “I want a taste of the glory. See what it tastes like.” The evolutionist might say it’s the ape in us. The religionist might say it’s our desire to reach heaven. Either way, it’s about connection. Connection with self, and connection with something greater, something more. Outside of the self.  If I say any more I’ll uncover too much. I have here, three poems on climbing. The first, I wrote over a year ago, and shared it on Facebook. Making It By Elias Orrego When you climb a mountain Can you ever fully Come back down? Is there always a p...