Elizabeth Acevedo

A truth
you did not want
to know
can rot & grow mold
in the pit
of your stomach,
can sour
every taste
you’ve ever had,
can cast a stench
so bad you forget
you’ve ever known
a sweet thing.

I am from a playground place.
Our oceans that we need for fish
are cleared so extranjeros can kite surf.
Our land, lush & green, is bought
& sold to foreign powers so they can build
luxury hotels for others to rest their heads.
The bananas & yucca & sugarcane
farmed & harvested, exported,
while kids thank God for every little scrap

The last time I saw my parents kiss
I was pretty small.
But it’s still hard to hear
that your own mother wasn’t happy.
Papi was always smiling, always full
of words & joy.
I wish I knew the rift
that grew this sea between them.
I used to think it was me

think I hate this sister.
She messages me
that she has acquired a plane ticket.
& how easy she says it.
Because it wasn’t endless paperwork,
because no one wondered if she would
want to overstay her visa.
The years my father tried
to get me to the States,
& that girl over there fills out a short form,
is granted permission, given a blue book—
shit, an entire welcome mat to the world.

A lot of people don’t finish school
or follow their dreams. That fairy-tale plotline is for
telenovelas.

But me, I know a man can have many faces & speak out of
both sides of his mouth; I know a man can make decisions
based on the flip of a coin;
a man can be real good at long division,
give away piece after piece after piece of himself

people come up to us to pay their respects.
Such a funny phrase, pay respects.
As if suffering is a debt that can be eased
by a hug & a head nod.
I have no need for this currency of people’s respect:

Here, despite the bad & ugly,
is my home. & now I wish that I could stay. Does anyone ever
want to leave the place they love

Here, despite the bad & ugly,
is my home. & now I wish that I could stay. Does anyone ever
want to leave the place they love?

You do not let your words stunt unknown possibilities.