The Shine Journal

 

Las Lagrimas de mi Bisabuelita

 

by

 

Stephanie Kaylor

 

 

 

 

 

long eyes

narrow eyes

tilted eyes

“almost-but-not-quite Asian” eyes

 

the only trace

the dead giveaway

of a woman whose blood

dirtied generations to come

 

her dark, malnourished body

housed nothing but burden

shunned by the family

of the man she loved

 

a woman who lost four children

couldn’t speak with her grandchildren

stabbed herself before she knew

her great-grandchildren

 

I check the box that says “Chicano”

though I know that even with her eyes

I’ll never see the world Maria knew.

---

My Bio: Stephanie Kaylor is a previously unpublished poet from Niskayuna, NY. She is attending SUNY Geneseo for undergraduate study in Creative Writing.

Motivation: Las Lagrimas de mi Bisabuelita is biographical, my attempt at giving words to a story and a woman that much of my family tries to conceal.