Vaya saber lo que paso
en aquella noche escondida,
el escándalo que se sigue armando años después,
por los celos, por la piedad.
No sé su nombre,
ni en que estado nació.
Nunca lo he visto.
Tendrá casi la misma edad de mi prima.
Tendrá tal vez,
las mismas cejas colgadas de sueño de nuestro tío,
la cara risueña,
el balbuceo al hablar.
Y me pregunto cómo debe ser,
tener tus hijas en casa
el fantasma de tu hijo como humo en la cocina,
como un rumor escondido
entre las piernas de una mujer que no conocemos.
My Uncle’s Son
Who knows what happened
on that hidden night,
the scandal that’s still being replayed years later,
due to jealousy, due to pity.
I don’t know his name,
not even in which state he was born.
I’ve never seen him.
He might almost be the same age as my cousin.
He might perhaps,
have the same hanging, sleepy eyelids of our uncle,
the same grinning face,
the same stutter when he speaks.
And I ask myself how it must be,
having your daughters at home,
your son’s ghost like smoke in the kitchen,
like a rumor hidden
between the legs of a woman we don’t know.
Luisa Aparisi-França is a Senior at Florida State University, about to obtain her B.A. in Creative Writing. She is presently being published in The Kudzu Review, and has previously been published in Teen Ink‘s book, Bullying Under Attack. She is a Spanish-Brazilian American, and speaks Spanish, English and Portuguese. She is from Miami, Florida and aims to continue studying poetry and languages.
A Quiet Courage 