Me encanta el cafe;

I love to drink coffee

 

Pero mi papa

But my dad

 

Has always told me I’d stop growing

If I drank too much

 

A pesar de esto my love for it grew

Iced, chilled

Un cafe cubano

Or an Americano, just the way pops likes it

 

What he never warned me about

Was how much my mind could stifle

my growth

 

My daily caramel macchiato

Left me wanting more

My favorite iced latte

Was not as cold as I became

Protective shell covered with lacing and coffee beans

 

Pero no fue el cafe

It wasn’t the coffee that stunned me

It was the dolor, the pain

Woven into me that did

 

Pero ya, no mas

Esos dias han pasados

Soy un arbol de cafe

Those days have long passed

And I am a coffee tree

Amid sunflowers and soft grass

Upon a mountain

 

Now when my father looks at me

He realizes it was not el cafe,

And he tells me

O, mija, cuanto has crecido

Oh, my daughter

How much you have grown

Despite your love affair with coffee

 

 

*The opinions and ideas expressed are solely those of the author, and may not reflect the opinions of The Bronx Brand*

Lu Perez is from the Eastchester section of the Bronx but currently resides in the Fordham area. Being Latina and growing up in a predominantly Hispanic/Latinx community in the Bronx has been a great influence in the way she writes. Her appreciation for her Dominican heritage comes through in Lu’s work. From the slang, the open fire hydrants during the summer, the sticky streets and booming music have become pieces in the puzzle that forms Lu’s identity; these are the experiences that have had a profound effect on the way Lu perceives the rest of New York, and the world.

Be sure to follow her on instagram: instagram.com/afro.latinaa