Delmarva Review: The Life of Secrets by Susan Okie

Author’s Note: My father was raised to keep secrets about his family’s past. He would never tell stories, even about his own childhood. But in Mexico, my own family was able to visit two elderly ladies who called themselves our “grandmother-aunts”—daughters of my great grandfather, who had married a much younger Mexican woman. “The Life of Secrets” celebrates their generosity and my admiration for that branch of our family.

The Life of Secrets

My father taught me not to poke at hidden things.
The tough questions, I saved for strangers.
Once, on TV, I saw a pantomime— 

Red Skelton played an astronaut,
spacewalking. Severed from his ship,
he floated off into darkness. 

I’m bolder now. Maybe it’s because
those I needed to interrogate are gone.
I know a woman who, after the war, 

walked through villages in Lithuania,
searching for her disappeared.
She called it the archives of the feet. 

This year, I found my tías abuelas,
two old ladies, Mexican half-sisters
of my grandmother from a marriage 

that my gringo family tried to erase.
Their house in Cuernavaca is filled
with sunlight, saints, dark paintings, 

the aroma of simmering black beans,
and a portrait of their father—
my great-grandfather. As little girls,
they used to try to bite his bald head. 

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Susan Okie is a doctor, a poet, and a former Washington Post medical reporter. She holds an MFA in poetry from the Warren Wilson College Program for Writers. Her work has appeared in various poetry journals. Her full-length collection, Women at the Crossing, won the 2023 Off the Grid Poetry Prize. She lives in Bethesda, Maryland.

Delmarva Review is a literary journal with strong local roots. With a national and local presence, it gives writers a good home in print and digital editions for the most compelling new prose and poetry at a time when many commercial publications have closed their doors or are reducing literary content. Editors cull through thousands of submissions annually to select the best of new poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. There is never a publishing or reading fee. The review is available from major online booksellers and regional specialty bookstores. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, support comes from tax-deductible contributions and a grant from Talbot Arts with funds from the Maryland State Arts Council. Website: www.DelmarvaReview.org

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