Abuelita Dice
Abuelita dice que
I have to change everything by 25.
Todo, veinte cinco.
Cambia, cumbia, ay caramba
Pero what if
No me gusta cambia.
A veces I want lo mismo.
Sometimes, siempre, Septiembre
Hay cosas que
I want to preserve
In amber, que preciosa.
Time, tiempo, no toques
Like este momento
At the kitchen table,
El corazon de la casa.
When you’re mocking my bangs
(Como se dice?)
And correcting my Spanglish.
Madeleine (Maddie) Silva is a motion picture coordinator at a Los Angeles-based management company as well as a teaching artist for WriteGirl. Her poems have been featured in Kingdom of Pavement and through ArtCenter alumni-run collective Meridian Exhibitions. A California native, her work often explores family dynamics and inherent tension between city and suburb. She tried to escape the Inland Empire but only got as far as the San Gabriel Valley. @madds_silva.