TWO POEMS | CHARITY YORO
respuestas de las madres
after sor juana ines de la cruz
greetings from scorpio’s cusp, assuming we ascribe to secular constellations, forgive us our creole mother tongue, for following our first light of reason, our young selves, hiding in feathered pages, in hacienda chapels, in love letters written in lost aztec languages. you say our sacred villancicos to st. catherine carry a sceptic slant. we say bless the good husbands, if we desired them, who wouldn’t gift us illegitimate children, wouldn’t gamble away our homes if given the chance. grant us shelter in books, in latin, in logic, in maps, the physics of the spinning spherical wonder of our natural world. consider our penance, written in prophecy, in persuasion, in piety. if we be too much woman, make us men, amen, that we may enter into reason rightly. safeguard our salvation. sincerely, in the name of the mother, the daughter, and the queen of sheba.
lahaina layover
I take a picture
of the frothing
at my toes:
a snapshot
of choosing
to stay to stand in the sand
as simple as
as natural as
salt on sun-
freckled skin:
Mom & I
walk down
the shore
parceled by
each mainland
chain hotel
— I wonder
if the order
is alphabetical
Dinner is over
salted & inter
ruppted by a
performance
that feels ex
ploitative
The girl looks too
young, keeps pulling
at her pa’u skirt while
the braddah on his pū
is short on breath, no
mo ha in aloha
Meanwhile the aunty
at the prime ocean
front property next
door teaches the haole
how to umi
Does it ever get old?
Teaching them, I mean
Mom asks about
my feelings on
tiki torches
(she likes them)
I don’t want
to get into it
so I refrain
from saying
out loud
what she
already knows:
no fucking
way I’m getting
married on
the beach.
Born and raised on the east side of Oʻahu in Hawaiʻi, Charity E. Yoro is a creative producer and poet currently residing on the traditional territory of the Atfalati, Clatskanie, and Kalapuya with her partner, daughter, and feisty feline guide named Rumi. Her poetry and writing can be found in Frontier Poetry, PRISM International, Ruminate Magazine, Fourteen Hills, New York Times’ Modern Love, and others. Her manuscript, Territories, was a semi-finalist in the Spring 2020 Black River Chapbook Competition by Black Lawrence Press.
Cover art by Sherita Trent. Frankie's Day Job. Still life photograph of 5x5 mixed media illustration.
Sherita Trent is a mixed media artist residing in Portland, Oregon. Her process is intuitive, detail oriented, and playful—producing works of art that exude her deep appreciation for the magic within the everyday moment. As a Black artist, she is particularly interested in reverbing the message that Black Joy is Resistance! You can see more of Sherita's work on Instagram: @ofquirkywonder and Facebook: www.facebook.com/ofquirkywonder. Keep an eye out for her Etsy shop coming soon!: www.etsy.com/shop/OfQuirkyWonder
