Family Gathering

by Steven Bolia

We used to live in a huge mansion all together
Above a supposedly hidden cave
Every year, we would have a meeting in our cave
We could invite friends—
Some more than others
My mother could invite the most
Because she had 143,000 live ones
And 247,000 dead ones
On this particular occasion she invited 81
Out of curiosity I went to the meeting early
But there was no one there because
They were still filming a war movie
Then I went to the real meeting (reluctantly)
But I had to leave early because I had packed-up
The wrong things—a bag full of stuffed animals
I went to return them to my old closet—
But it had already been sealed shut.