Abuelita’s Lote & Sister
If you were kneaded from the same masa as me /
One of us may not make it out of our city alive /
Category: Poetry
El deshielo & Estatua de la libertad
Durante años solo pude escribir /
sobre los bosques ahumados de América— /
el modo en que el aire te envuelve como una mala noticia. /
What I’d Say to Little Xavi & Joy Without Shame
Mami didn’t say te amo or lo siento. /
Just said vete de mi casa /
a week later— /
like queerness was a crime, /
and your survival, an inconvenience. /
Happy Perreo & When Palmieri Wakes You
Was always stuck inside of some mouth, /
or rather an intricate language /
or another danza. /
Rumors of Sugar and Salt & I can only visit Camagüey in poems because
Red, white, and blue patriotism may be a reason for execution if arranged improperly on the flag.
600
Dearly Beloved, /
There will be no gathering today, /
Till the whole family is freed from our chains. /
Not For Your Comfort & The Girl Who Speaks In Color
i speak in color / because color is how i was made: /
primera generación & The Creation of Arepas
brown skin blended into soil /
hair strands into grass blades /
arms molded into anthills /
Inventory & Slam Dancing at the University of Chicago, 1992
Conocí a tu madre, she says /
but I don’t ask her to say more /
how to sleep through a storm
it’s not a soothing storm; not the rain channel you put on when you can’t sleep /
(or attempt to heal yourself of trauma with) at times the storm is louder
Little Green & My Father Cultivated the Rose of José Martí
“Esto,” she said, “es el rosa /
that never limits boundaries, /
