sábado, 22 de abril de 2017

Women in my family

The women in my family,
Las mujeres de mi familia
short, tall, old and young,
chaparritas, altas, viejas y jovencitas,
all have one thing in common:
tenemos algo en común:
Half an inch underneath our skin,
Un par de centímetros bajo la piel,
slightly left from the meeting point of our breasts,
poquito a la izquierda del pecho,
we harbor an everlasting flame.
guardamos un fuego que no se apaga.

We were given, from our birth,
Nos fue dado, al nacer,
a small hearth within our chests,
un pequeño hogar para guardarlo en nuestro pecho,
with instructions detailing
y las instrucciones precisas 
when to add firewood
para agregar madera
when to blow
por nuestro bien y el de los nuestros.
and when to simply sit by the fireplace and rest.

Mother to daughther,
we pass down our flame.

A flame no wound can extinguish
A flame no disdain can douse
A flame no sorrow can dampen

The women in my family
(my mom, my grandma, my aunts and I)
have all been hurt.

We have all cried salty rivers down our chests
felt the empty disdain of a lover's eyes
Had a friend stab us in the back.

And still

We don't crumble. We don't grow hollow.

The women in my family
(my mom, my grandma, my aunts and I)
On the hour of our birth
Were given a heart fit for embers
An ever warm, pain consuming, hearth.