An Asymptote of Halves

A Napkin Poem by Raechelle Yballe

Meet me halfway, Mama, beside the Bangka gravid with sardines. Where I drowned in a galaxy of starfish and Daddy’s breath saved me. Love and labor were inscribed at our start. Meet me halfway, along the sandpiper’s chase, where the boy unhooking lace discovered my Miraculous Medal and Scapular. Almost succeeding. Never quite touching. Then, meet me halfway. Halfway once more. Meet me beside the flaming mimosa—the caterpillar’s nursery, the firefly’s tophet. On this strand, among shells of infinite halves. Where there is love. Where there is labor.

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Born in Cebu City, Philippines, Raechelle Yballe currently resides in Dallas, Texas, where she is weighing the benefits of early retirement from corporate life. Her writing focuses on short-form fiction and nonfiction, drawing inspiration from childhood memories of Cebu and her life Stateside as a cultural cusp. Raechelle has previously published in The New York Times' Tiny Love Stories. A mystery flash fiction is slated for publication in January 2025 with Close to the Bone.