POEM:

IN A SUNSHINE NEIGHBORHOOD IN DR:

I learned the
difference between
roses and violets

carin~o
come and help me
she'd tell me

on the mornings
my parents
would leave

to work at
the restaurant

my grandma
would move as wind

maintain the flowers
as good as gold

listen to radio
and sing them
old songs

dance while cooking
in the kitchen

when she'd say
mi muchachita
she'd laugh and
give me a big hug

with my grandma
I learned to spread
water on the flowers

to point out the red
roses in the sunshine

DR gardens, rivers,
sea

in her eyes I'd see
them in her rainbow

I'd feel them and
see the different colors
like a stripe

one day I was told
she was gone

but still I feel her
in my heart

whispering in
my ear and mind
carin~o.