by Abby
So I have a bit of an untraditional approach to this Yak board. I really love poetry. Love writing it, reading it, and feeling it. And some things I can really only express in the style of poetry. It’s how I express my love of vocabulary and the many many different emotions enveloped in the human experience. So this past week I wrote a poem inspired by Dia de Los Vivos (or Santos) and Dia de los Muertos. Also my lifelong hatred of eating oranges. For reference my host family has three different farms located around the region of Urubamba and that Saturday my parents had taken me to them all and showed me around. I understand poetry isn’t for everyone and that’s okay. But I hope you appreciate it nonetheless. Also huerta is the word for like a vegetable garden and chacra is a farm or farmland.
I’ve Never Liked Oranges,
Pero, el sabor es más rico acá.
So sweet, con mucho jugo,
It’s incomprehensible.
I’ve never liked oranges,
but I’ve never shared their beauty
while visiting chacras differentes.
I’ve never liked oranges,
pero nunca probado cuando tomando una camioneta
en una chacra llena de fruta y árboles.
I’ve never liked oranges.
But, i’ve never been covered in their juice
visiting ofrendas of loved ones.
Never shared their essence with the spirits del pasado.
Nunca had them fresh from la huerta.
Never had them with wind holding me in the embrace of the coming lluvia.
Never had them without questioning their tango with pesticides.
Never had them cradle my heart in such a way.
I’ve never liked oranges.
But, I’ve never given myself
the opportunity to try again.