Almandina, Melissa Castro 2022
Poetry @ the Green with Melissa Castro Almandina
320 S. Canal
My father used to take me across time,
It came with us when we took the bus from Guadaliajara to Michoacán where
I sought scorpions, I hunted them, like I hunted ghosts
I was 4.
– Melissa Castro Almandina, “Because I Taught Myself How to Read English”
Trapped monarchs die inside
Before they become dust
It is cruel to see a monarch in
A cage, winged flesh ripped
In the name of nationalism
In keeping the wings white
What a cruel vision
To see fluttering dreams
Encased.
– Melissa Castro Almandina, “Children of the Dead”
Check out this book review of “The Breakbeat Poets Vol. 4: LatiNext,” featuring poetry by Melissa Castro Almandina:
“The Breakbeat Poets Vol. 4: LatiNext” Celebrates Latinx Community and Future-Building
“Writing, for me, is a way of reimagining that which I’ve experienced and creating something new. It’s a way of future-building. It’s a way of taking back agency. Each time I do this in my writing, I think it makes me a little more free.”
