Encantado by Pat Mora

Author:Pat Mora [Mora, Pat]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: POE005070 Poetry / American / Hispanic American, POE024000 Poetry / Women Authors
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
Published: 2018-09-25T00:00:00+00:00

Anna

At my desk and in my garage studio,

my doubts occasionally nap.

“¿Quíen será?

Who can make beauty?”

Mother would challenge.

At our kitchen table,

my sisters grabbed Crayolas.

I’d stare, afraid of ruining

the clean white paper,

its persistent bareness.

In summer shorts, I sat embarrassed

at my sluggish imagination. I’d watch

flowers and trees bloom

in the gardens

my sisters drew.

At the university, still unable

to join the confidence parade,

I close my office door. Sometimes,

I sketch, but also, I follow my hands—

cut copper sheets, solder,

let the copper lead, with a small torch

anneal brass—heat softens rigidity—

piece together miniature sculptures,

run my hand over the smooth, silky surface,

create Mother’s home—kitchen and bedroom—

in a tiny gold birdcage—

confining beauty.

I color the surfaces with pencils,

the wax of honeybees

blends, layers,

retaining its unique colors.

Working expands my soul.

Mother, a widow, a frightened, nervous

woman in her second country,

sits at her kitchen table, begins

her practiced meditation—

her hands rhythmically clean beans,

the familiar easing her into her body.

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