Love in Spanglish
There is a tangle in my throat
Her name is Spanish
And she knows
How I feel
Her name is Spanish
And she knows
How I feel
I try to speak with her in my mouth
But she claws her way out
There are whole worlds
I can’t describe
in
Spanish
There are whole worlds
I can’t describe
in
Spanish
Feelings trapped mid-flight
▬▬ι═══════════════════════════════════════ι▬▬
Te quiero
Is more
than
‘I love you’
Is more
than
‘I love you’
▬▬ι═══════════════════════════════════════ι▬▬
Te quiero
Is
a bastard
Hallmark card
in my mouth
Is
a bastard
Hallmark card
in my mouth
In
Spanish
I want you
Spanish
I want you
▬▬ι═══════════════════════════════════════ι▬▬
I want you
to know
to know
Que hay palabras prohibidas
Que se queden en mi boca
Como pájaros temblando con miedo
de volar
When Will I See You Again?
Two bodies Two passports
a p a r t
a p a r t
In what world
Are we together?
Are we together?
There is no
Space
In
The first world [or third]
Space
In
The first world [or third]
Just a groundless
Future tense
Of
One more day
One more month
One more year
Future tense
Of
One more day
One more month
One more year
Feels like
One more lifetime
Without you
One more lifetime
Without you
The Doghouse
“Me llevaron a la perrera” / "They took me to the pound"
She said
She said
Only, it was not a dog
But her
Who was kept in the cage
But her
Who was kept in the cage
“In the detention center
The only atmosphere is
De depresión/of depression
De tristeza/of sadness
De angustia/of fear
¿Qué va a suceder con el caso de uno?
You wonder: what’s going to happen to me?”
The only atmosphere is
De depresión/of depression
De tristeza/of sadness
De angustia/of fear
¿Qué va a suceder con el caso de uno?
You wonder: what’s going to happen to me?”
If you did not listen if you did not heel
You went to the icebox
Where the only sheet was foil
You went to the icebox
Where the only sheet was foil
You lay shivering
Like a street dog
Whose bed
Is newspapers
Because
You cannot claim
A home
Like a street dog
Whose bed
Is newspapers
Because
You cannot claim
A home
Excavations // Los Colibres
They dig in the desert
Hoping to find
The bodies
Of migrants gone missing
Hoping to find
The bodies
Of migrants gone missing
Rings
Boots
Wallets
And sombreros
Pave the way to promise
Boots
Wallets
And sombreros
Pave the way to promise
But sometimes a rancher
Has other plans
Does not want
Their human trophies found
Has other plans
Does not want
Their human trophies found
They scatter
Their pertenencias
Miles from severed heads
While Los Colibris follow the crumbs
Their pertenencias
Miles from severed heads
While Los Colibris follow the crumbs
Or they unearth
A sliver of skull
Calling their compañeras
Who call back:
A sliver of skull
Calling their compañeras
Who call back:
Be sure it’s not a vaquero,
We dig not for them
We dig not for them
ESL or Bicultural
‘English is not
Her native language’
She says
Her native language’
She says
Because sometimes
I stumble
On syntax
I stumble
On syntax
Or actively use
The passive voice
The passive voice
English is
A language
I never chose
A language
I never chose
Like a man
Who thinks no
Is a question (mark)
Who thinks no
Is a question (mark)
I ask:
Is English
My native language?
Is English
My native language?
A word problem
I can’t decode
I can recode
I can’t decode
I can recode
I decipher
Her careless words
Like they’re weighted
With history
Her careless words
Like they’re weighted
With history
White women words
Grade me on a curve
And I
Quit the test
I bite the books
I razor the page
I drink the ink
I stomp the clock
Grade me on a curve
And I
Quit the test
I bite the books
I razor the page
I drink the ink
I stomp the clock
To turn back the time
Reclaim my time
And the words
She took [from me]
Reclaim my time
And the words
She took [from me]
Michelle Villegas Threadgould is a biracial, Chicana writer and poet who covers Latinx issues and resistant movements. Her work has been featured in CNN, Pacific Standard, KQED, New York Observer, and Latino USA. Seven of her essays were featured in the music anthology Women Who Rock, and her debut nonfiction book will be released in 2020 by University of Texas Press. Her latest poetry series, Broken Borders tells the narratives of immigrants, borders, and crossings.
