spanish madre

tall sugar canes were your first memory

home was in the valley of the mountains

eating sweet mangos under a hot sun

rivers nearby where the ladies laundered

every images imprinted as the plan

soared across the Atlantic ocean to

a new home in cold Pennsylvania

middle name and an “h” added by nuns

and English placed on your tongue

recollections of Espanol slowly fade

you have become Americanized

- Written for dVerse Meeting the Bar: Tell Me Your Name