The Last Two Chocolate Chip Cookies in Manhattan - Page 6

by Cindy Ellen Hill

I spent the night on the linoleum floor of the kitchen, drifted in and out of dreams. The sailboat in Italy on vacation as a kid, my dad popping fish after fish onto the deck. My mom wearing pearls, a glass of wine in hand, the glint of raspberry lipstick. The black sailboat blowing up. Gardens on balconies. Gardens in Harlem, drenched with rocket fuel.

I thrashed around, my sore feet flopping between the cabinet and the base of the counter. Why didn’t we plant more when we had the chance? Why weren’t there apple trees in every park? Mint growing out of the sidewalks? Pots of peppers on the front steps?

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Cindy Ellen Hill

Cindy Ellen Hill has authored four poetry collections and five novellas. Her poetry has been included in Treehouse Literary Review, Flint Hills Review, Anacapa Review, and The Lyric. Her short fiction has appeared in Vermont Magazine, Writers’ Digest, and the Fantasist Enterprises anthology. Her essays on sonnet elements have appeared in American Poetry Review. Her novel in sonnet verse, Leeds Point, is forthcoming in 2026 from Selkie Songs Press UK. She holds an MFA in Writing and lives in the Republic of Vermont. Cindy encourages your contributions to the Black Family Land Trust or the Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust.