Bosque: Poems
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About this ebook
Nestled in the heart of Albuquerque is a vibrant cottonwood forest that has flourished for centuries along the Río Grande—providing a home for porcupines, migratory birds, coyotes, and other wildlife as well as a sanctuary for its city residents. Today, in the midst of climate change and the slow drying of the river, the bosque struggles to remain vibrant. As a former Albuquerque Poet Laureate, Michelle Otero champions this beloved Albuquerque treasure. In her debut poetry collection, Bosque, she celebrates the importance of water and the bosque to the people of Albuquerque. Otero shares her reflections on the high desert—where she is rooted, where she draws her strength, and where she has flourished—and she invites readers to do the same.
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Bosque - Michelle Otero
The Color Brown
coyote fencebackyard dirtJanuary yucca frondEstancia pintos arroyo sandsun-cracked gourdcottonwood trunkhuskdustmesquite poddirt roadriver clayadobe brickTaos churchmother’s handsme
Aquí Estamos
We are older than this country, created
in the collision of peoples from across oceans
and the center of the earth.
We come from people who work, people
who dream. We are scholars and writers,
científicos y senadoras.
We come from people who serve
in every war
in every capacity.
We come from loss,
de lucha y logro.
Somos de abundancia, de donde
come uno, comen dos. We come from
the table leaf, the TV tray, Grandpa’s workbench,
lo que sea para acomodar más.
We come from ghosts, de recuerdos
de la casa de Nana y
las manos de Abuelo.
Somos de chile colorado
de metate y molcajete
de cumbia, flamenco, tango y
cha-cha-cha.
We are morenas with blue-black hair
güeros with green eyes
threads of morado under the skin.
Somos lodo y álamo
We are corn
We are rock
We are willow and reed
dust and ash
We drink river
burn cedar
make mountain
make rain
Sabemos
Somos sabios,
sanadoras y milagros
They say hearing is the last sense
to leave the dying.
So what is it we need to say?
The ombligo will always lead you home
We know each other
Let us remember
the speck in your eye makes
my eye water
I see you because I
see myself, hear you
because I know the sound of my own voice
Let us remember ourselves whole
Let us re-member
we are corn, bean, and squash
May we plant truth
harvest transformation
May we relearn this language
we’ve always known
lenguaje más allá de la lengua
lenguaje del río y del corazón
de tierra, del alma y del sol
A Prayer of Thanks for the Givers
you give to remember the words de esa canción de cuna que te cantaba Amá
you give to practice the steps Daddy taught with your feet on top of his
you give to learn what our books missed
you give to make home
you make bricks on the plaza
school buses in the lot
altares a los muertos
divas and dance—folklorico, flamenco, salsa, and ballet
creas pintura y poesía, teatro y tertulias
you make arepas, sancocho, pupusas, y flan
you give to remember red chile in a butter container, geraniums in a coffee can
you give because Abuelo fought in World War Two,
because your mom always wanted to be in a play
you give because that guitar under the bed won’t let you sleep at night
you give to learn what our parents missed
no por su culpa—por miedo, por vida, para protegernos
creas cuentos y colchas
marchas y matachines
you give gritos and carnaval
resolanas y raspados
you give because Última was the first book you read that told your story
because you grew up in a house on Mango Street
you make