Author’s note: I wrote a previous version of “Otoño” for a live poetry performance at El Comalito Collective’s opening reception for the Black and Brown Bodies with Plants 2 exhibition in September 2021. This radically revised reconstruction remains an urgent call for us to embrace the depths of change and to hold onto ourselves with tenderness even when we feel terrified about falling apart.
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I wonder why we poets sing for Spring
and lament the Fall
the Winter forcing us to rest, recover
admit
to seeking shelter and warmth
the sharpness of icy airs piercing us
’til we are driven to swaddle ourselves
in jackets, steamy mugs,
and all of our neediness for warmth
These are seasons we forget to honor,
neglecting our needs for hibernation and retreats into
our own secluded place.
Could we take count of the cycles we crowded out
with all of our clinging to the Spring?
La primavera no es eterna
para nada
ni nadie.
