It’s December, and I go to Mission Plaza
to try on different lives. Inside the church,
I inhale whispered prayers and notice how
others do it. One woman kisses the floor,
another simply kneels. I try on being
proud Hugo who stands to recite a prayer
while his father videos, and then I’m the bored boy
who poses for a photo by the crèche. Outside,
the carousel spins while I stand near the fountain
where I become the girl tipping her green hat as she
rides the bronze bear like a bronco before trying
to reach the water below. A mustached father
takes pictures; then five siblings appear,
including a toddler named Mico. They speak
Spanish, place the boy on the bear, and for
photos, yell, Cheese, Mico, Cheese! This is
the family I want to go home with. I watch until
they leave, and like Santa looking back after
delivering a gift, the mustached dad waves to me.