Immigrant’s Lullaby
I kneel into a dream in warm water
Floating easily, buoyant in the silk blanket of salt
My tears blur out the canopy of clouds overhead
I feel the ocean traverse me, inconsistent, complicated
And I traverse it, though more consistent in my penury,
Here I am good
Here I am unafraid
Back on the bipedal surface, fear has crept into every splinter of bone now
I am afraid of the things most intrinsic to me
Afraid of speaking Spanish in public
Of being caught being brown in public
Or what it says about me that I complain
about virtue signaling Instagram posts,
when I still pay my taxes though I know
where that money goes
How I’ve never been able to enjoy something good
without asking if I’ve worked enough receive it
Can I rest now?
In the dream the answer is the softest “yes”
The good, warm water is mine
And even if I don’t deserve it, I deserve it
About the Author: Rocío Iglesias McKenzie is Cuban-born poet and artist working at the intersection of diaspora, queer embodiment, and inherited myth. Her work can be found in Poetry South Journal, Tilted House, Pioneertown, Sublunary Editions, and many others. In 2024 her chapbook of poetry, “The Is Still Night”, was published by DownStairs Press. She lives, breathes, and works in Saint Paul, MN.
Image Credit: Akseli Gallen-Kallela Iltarusko visuvedellä (1891) Public domain image courtesy of Artvee
As It Ought To Be 