Emily Velasquez
if the desert whistles back
each lump of sand thirsts
like a lamp bowled in its gluttonous gold
every eye blinks every
eye strips afraid of the solstice thief
where feet get swaddled
for the first time
the first time
your mother speed reads aloud
her tongue becomes the hook of the story
she remembers allá and you become the desert
because allá is not a place with you, allá exists
when she whispers about her father’s other wife and
other children and you are aca when her sounds say ellos
she grieves with her fingers each one pointing to a past
to allá, where trees flap their wings before they die
Bio
I am Emily Velasquez, a current MFA in Creative Writing and MA in English Graduate student at Chapman University. I am fascinated by language and, most specifically, recycling it in such ways that a word or a phrase can be pushed further than how it’s been presented to be read. When I read poetry, I enjoy when I come across writing where words bleed beyond themes, form, and meaning, but you can feel each sound on the page. My favorite poets are Diana Khoi Nguyen, José Olivarez, Lucille Clifton, and Brenda Cárdenas.