BY ROBERTO CARLOS GARCÍA
CURATED BY CECILIA LLOMPART
Elegy in which I rename a city for you
because the bric a brac & cracked curbs
because the brick face buildings & cement stoops
because your freckled cheeks & tough smile
All of New York must say your name & know it is home:
La Isla de La Altagracia
All of New York must wrestle the letters in your sweet name
Gringos will feel they have cottonmouth
New Yorker’s will feel your presence each time they say home
New York—Sing the song of my grief
La Isla de la Altagracia sing it with me
Roberto Carlos García's book, Melancolía, is available from Červená Barva Press. His poems and prose have appeared or are forthcoming in Academy of American Poets Poem-A-Day, The New Engagement, Public Pool, Stillwater Review, Gawker, Barrelhouse, Tuesday; An Art Project, The Acentos Review, Lunch Ticket, and many others. He is the founder of Get Fresh Books, LLC, a cooperative press. A native New Yorker, Roberto holds an MFA in Poetry and Poetry in Translation, and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. His website is www.robertocarlosgarcia.com
Cecilia Llompart is the Spanish Poetry Editor for Luna Luna Magazine.