Susan Ayres | What Can't Be Taken Back
You are hard to live with,
Pancho said.
Everyone knows
Ask Polo, he said.
Long after he’s gone,
I sit by the window, hemming
a dress for Susanna
and think of his words.
Was I?
Bossy, I had rules.
No crumbs
in the living room.
Tín always snuck
food out of the kitchen
In summer, I made the boys
study math, the girls
learn to sew and play piano.
Often, I wanted to be alone.
I believed I wanted a family.
What did I know?
In San Antonio, we went to the library,
visited lions, buffalo, deer,
bears at the zoo.
Come back, the eldest said
one summer I went away,
leaving the children in Canutillo.
We need
some rules here.
Tín is riding his pony
in the house. I could imagine
the crumbs, the dirt,
Betita’s new baby. All those years
he was my one true love—
and now she was his. I went
away.
Bliss needs something
to push against. The contrast
of soft velvet and scratchy wool.
His brushy mustache
tickling my belly
when he finished his laps
in the pool.
Valentina's diverse background has allowed her to gain experience in various disciplines, and enrich her multi-cultural heritage and unique perspective, continuing her journey into the play of light and color, capturing the essence of the world that envelops us, while remaining firmly grounded in the realms of pleasure and aesthetics. Valentinas' work draws profound inspiration from the dynamic culture and lush landscapes of her homeland, Colombia.
