Bilingüe/Bilingual

a poem from under the samán tree

Home, why not? - Samaná, Dominican Republic

Bilingüe/Bilingual

The cars 
             zoom 
                    zoom
                           zoom
past the dentist’s office window
in a rush of Dominican traffic— 
we are but guests
in my motherland.

“Otro carro!” she says
in the giddiness
that accompanies toddler recognition. 
Except her ca–rro
sounds more like ca–row.

No sign of the r’s on the tongue
that embraces español.
The kind of letter that should rooooll... 
like all those squealing tires
going round
                and round
                            and round outside.

“Mi vida, it’s ca–rrrrro,”
but again, she says, “Ca–row.” 
Does it take a culture
to learn a language?
To truly know it by heart?
How do I submerge her
in a country she’ll never call home?

Still, I insist—
because one day she will thank me 
for not letting her r’s die.
She will say, “Ca-rrrrro,”
with enough fuerza to jumpstart
a dead engine.

Her tongue will twist and turn
in ways those of her monolingual peers
never will.
And, yes,
her heart will feel divided.
Two sides threatening
to pit themselves,
one against the other.

Soon enough,
she will learn she doesn’t have to choose. 
Her tongue will tell her mind
to tell her heart
(in English and español):
Car y carro.
And one day she will thank me: 
“Grrrraaaciaaaas.”

SOME EXCITING NEWS! Under the Samán Tree: Poems on Home, Longing, and Belonging was recently the winner of a Silver Nautilus Book Award. Feeling so encouraged and grateful! Thank you to everyone who has purchased, read, and shared this collection. I’ll soon have signed copies with the winning seal for sale. If you want a signed & sealed copy, you can purchase at the link below.