I read her name for the first time like the thousandth time
feel it curling on my tongue
making a home where mine never seemed to fit
Malinche
her heart beats a moment in my chest
and I feel her bonds’ ghost on my wrist
whispering surrender
dame dame dame tu sangre
Malinche
I will hold it safe
tucked in the right hollow of my chest
nestled in the dreams of my mother’s mother’s mother
women shackled by illusory choice
no entendí hasta ahora
hasta tú, Malinche
Yo sé el precio que tuviste que pagar
I taste it in the copper stream flooding my tongue
as I run, your heart pumps into me this iron will
I did not know it was your corazón I ran with
Half a millennium between us
Rising smoke to clear the underbrush
dime cómo vivir así
sentada en las llamas
españoles on the horizon
hombres a tu espalda
and a choice never yours to make
Hayley Garcia Parnell (they/she, elle/ella) is a loud and proud nonbinary Chicana poet, lighting designer, lover of birds, and hater of bios. They are a New York City transplant hailing from Westminster, Colorado, who dreams of plopping the City smack dab in the Rockies. Follow them on IG @hays_ways.
