I woke up with a poem on the tip of my tongue, the beginning of the daydream where I think of the word azar in Spanish so fluky, and how the z in the middle forms its sound in the center of my cupped tongue and slides out my mouth almost surreptitiously between my upper and lower teeth—stumbling out of my mouth, through my slightly parted lips, as if a sigh. I suddenly think of the word deseo, which I understand now as desire instead of wish, y es un capricho, un antojo. A crave caused by a capricious desire that nothing and no one could stand between us for the longest few minutes, asking us to keep six feet apart. I wish that we could hold stares for the longest minute and not need masks so I could hear you breathing. You me we kissing for the longest minute as if my tongue said deseo y azar explorando tu boca. Your desire and a chance meeting at the tips of our tongues, surrendering to the randomness of a fleeting kiss and wishing that the longest minute ends this day in this other world to keep tasting you aquí y ahora instead of en este mundo al revés, where we live full of past and empty of future. Masked.
Cecilia Martínez-Gil has published two books of poetry a fix of ink and the multi-award-winning, and USA Best Books Award Finalist Psaltery and Serpentines. She also co-wrote the award-winning video “Itinerarios.” She has published poetry and journalism in both Spanish and English in newspapers, online magazines, and journals, and is an editor and literary translator. She teaches English and Latin American Literatures at Santa Monica College in California and holds master’s degrees in languages, literatures, creative writing, and sustainability. Originally from Montevideo, Uruguay, Cecilia lives in Santa Monica with her husband, professional musician Federico Ramos, and their daughter Magaluna Ramos, an emerging singer/songwriter.
Featured Photo by Juan Rojas on Unsplash
Sentience Literary Journal 