Dura Mater, New York City, 1960 For my grandmother
For my grandmother
I have paid in blood
for my disloyalty.
I was unfaithful,
whore,
puta asquerosa.
I refused that life.
Pity the little girls
I have abandoned.
Loved less, motherless.
Lo siento, queridas, but I choose me.
You are merely collateral damage.
Jiménez, Mónica. "Dura Mater, New York City, 1960 For my grandmother." Proyecto de la literatura puertorriqueña/Puerto Rican Literature Project, 2024.
Rights: Mónica Jiménez