Amor

It was only moments ago she took off her chanclas

And I saw the tan lines across her unpainted toes.

Her skin blends well with the wet sand

It isn’t long before she’s dancing in her handkerchief dress

Side to side, she’s pretending it has frills,

Pretending it’s a dress we know we can’t afford.

And she dances so beautifully, elegantly

Never looking down, even on the uneven shore.

She’s sure of her step. And she smiles

It’s not the smile she does for pictures

It’s her real smile, the one where she shows her teeth.

I don’t where I’ll get the money, and I know

It makes little sense for one to wear their nicest gowns

To the beach, but from where we stand, I have

Given nothing to her, she deserves more than me.

I will buy her a dress,

Will find and make sure it’s of the finest green fabric, and she

Will dance in the sand, my Amor, a budding flower,

In the nectar of the sweet and dripping sun.

Corazoncito

Please do not call me your Corazoncito

Because every time you do

I picture myself a heart,

Sitting in the corner of the tub

Watching the blood stream

Across the ceramic before pooling

And swirling down the depths of the drain

I picture myself in a classroom

As a heart at a desk, as a student

Who wants to declare

The most moving of sentiments,

But has no lips with which to speak,

With which to testify

I picture myself a heart,

Walking down the crowded lonely street

In a trench coat,

And no, I cannot tell you why

When I picture this I have legs and feet

But no arms, but I

Picture myself wanting to pick you flowers

That are nestled beneath a tree,

I see myself wanting to

Pluck them for you

Please don’t call me your Corazoncito

Because if you ever left me

That is all I’d be—

A faceless, armless, purposeless

Corazon left to ponder his own being.