Themes: labor, inherited, survival, desire, bilingual

the house on fire

we were made to stay inside
the borderline. safety is not beyond 
measure

you once said, as we cross the plains in smoke

to head to guánica bay
we must first pass the sunflower fields

the red bricks of ghetto living once
held the sun,

the heat was pressed into my back

now
decay

fresh orange en el punto,

turning
die

the wooden house
that once lived under an aluminum
ceiling
the house caught
fire
when the stove was
left on

when the stove was
left on 

we were taught caution and guilt,
i was taught to consume
like fire or be expunged forever

in the background, once again,
the mountains
burn

again,
i want to forget the burning
mountains

guánica, are the waters clear?
i know we die alone, still
i want to venture out

again, are the waters clear?
are the fishermen the same?
are the spanish cobblestones the same 

in this tiny world? mami, mother, 
do you not see what was
inflicted

in this body when you left?

in the boy you left behind