Poem by Elisabeth Contreras-Moran
when I was really young, I’d ask mi abuelita
“Lita, how much do you love me?”
she’d reply in her native language
“ah, m’ja, con todo de mi corazón”
spanish became the language of tangible love
mi familia, mi alma: abrazos y besos
when my son was really young, he’d ask me
“mama, how much do you love me?”
I’d use my Lita’s spanglish to reply
“ah, mi’jo, tu eres mi mundo”
he’d look up at me from big brown eyes and a
freckled nose to affirm
“yes, mama, two lettuce moon dough”
if spanglish is to be our familial love language too
I'm perfectly happy that ours is moon dough
Elisabeth Contreras-Moran is an environmental scientist whose family roots extend to Texas but who currently resides in rural England with her husband, son and pets. She trained as a teacher in England and now spends her day home educating her son and his friends in nature immersed ways. She spends her nights writing and creating, when the house is quiet. Elisabeth enjoys writing stories and poems, gardening, sketching and illustrating. She has written and illustrated several children’s picture books, all featuring a diverse cast of characters interacting with nature. She cannot speak Spanish but sometimes dreams in it anyway.
Image by Gabriel Tovar