They call my dad a little Greek,
even my mom, who’s only

taller than him in heels.
Sometimes she calls him Gus

or Nick, which he prefers.
His real name’s Homer

& he slicks his black hair
back with Brylcreem,

votes Republican, plays golf
with WASPs. Poolside,

my sunburned Texan not-yet-
fullblown Democratic

alcoholic mom drinks
Smirnoff on the rocks.

He sips Dewar’s & water.
She’s leaving him, she says,

taking us kids to Canada
if Reagan wins.

Hilary Sideris has recently published poems in The American Journal of Poetry, Bellevue Literary Review, Free State Review, Gravel, The Lake, Main Street Rag, Rhino, Salamander, and Southern Poetry Review. Her latest book Animals in English is forthcoming from Dos Madres Press. She is funnier on the page than in person and posts unprofessional cat photos on Instagram. She has lived in Brooklyn for many years.