A single besito as smooth as a blue satin rose
Your red lips stain your baby girl’s forehead
her first and longest goodbye
They liken my mamí to a rose
Lips curled into una rara sonrise — a rare smile
How melancholy a memory so fragile
She disappeared along with the towers
in 2001
Into thick trees of green
— Our shared decay
It’s probably more beautiful than I’m making it seem
Branches become barren
As velvet cold permeates
The soil you seeped into
Snow melts come spring
Birthing plush mosses, flowers and forests of you
Una sonrisa como las flores
Que florecen en tonos de azul
A smile like the flowers
That blooms in hues of blue
Blue, like the depths of my longing
To know the melody of your laugh
The rhythm of your wisdom
Yet we meet in my dreams
In the embrace of my nieces
In the hues of your eight blue roses
Our love lives in our souls
Where the sun meets the clouds
In my sueños I go to find you
My first love, your soul’s reflection
MiC Columnist Ana-Maria Sanchez Castillo can be contacted at castilan@umich.edu