More alone than my first day of School

Rinconcito is a special little corner in Somos en escrito for short writings: a single poem, a short story, a memoir, flash fiction, and the like.

Two Poems by María (Jesú) Estrada

                                "Jesucristo Santifícanos"

I can hear the eternal mumbling
Of el Rosario
In the other room.
And I am alone in the living room
With dirty blue walls.
More alone than my first day of School,
Where I sat in the aisles
Looking at a woman
I didn’t understand
‘Cuz she was a gringa
And I am a wetback child.  And I
Hated her and her sick colored skin.
I hated all the kids who didn’t
Know what I was saying.  I hated how
They stood up.  Looked at the Cloth
With bright red and blue and put
Their hands over their hearts.
Mumbled on and on like my Abuelita, when
She runs all the words together
From el Rosario.
 
The gringa’s eyes were full and new.
Not like Your eyes that are
Dying colors.
And You!
You didn’t help me!  And now You’re
Looking at me with those blue eyes
Like all those dumb kids who didn’t know
When I said hello.
You know everything, and theydidn’tknownothing
¡No me mires con esos pinches ojos!
‘Cuz you’re looking at me like
I’m no good
‘Cuz you know my Dad’s a mojado
And I can’t mumble the way they do
When they stand
So tall
To pray

"Jesucristo Santificanos" was originally published in A Language and Power Reader: Representations of Race in a "Post-Racist" Era by Utah State University Press; 1st edition (October 15, 2014).

"Red Wine, Roque"

Roque
You taught me
Red wine
Was close to a
Lonely
Morning
Orgasm
 
A poem set on the
Moon.
 
A revolution
Set in my
Soul.

​MARIA J. ESTRADA is an English college professor of Composition, Literature, and her favorite, Creative Writing. She also runs her union chapter with amor and pride. She grew up in the desert outside of Yuma, Arizona in the real Barrio de Los Locos, a barrio comprised of new Mexican immigrants and first-generation Chicanos. Drawing from this setting and experiences, she writes like a loca every minute she can—all while magically balancing her work and union and family obligations. She lives in Chicago’s south side with her wonderfully supportive husband, two remarkable children, and two mischievous cats—one of whom has killed at least one laptop. You can learn more about her writing happenings and favorite books on her YouTube channel Radical Books and Politics.
 
She is Founder and Editor-in-Chief at Barrio Blues Press. 

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