Añasco: a Poem of Memory and Loss

[vlinpr13]

I wrote “Añasco” based on one particularly fond memory of my childhood in Puerto Rico, and I hoped to represent my sense of loss at having the town that generations of my ancestors originated from devastated by Hurricane Maria. Although I wrote it immediately following the hurricane, I have kept it relatively private until now. Please let me know what you think of it. Any and all constructive criticism is appreciated.

Añasco

Tonight I dream of childhood phantoms.
Dusty children, sticky from the heat
Tumbled out into the street
From concrete homes.

Their cries of war now echo widely.
Battle-ready, grinning cheerily
Barefoot soldiers running free
And undisturbed.

Then gathered they upon the asphalt
Meager armies march without a beat
Soccer balls and calloused feet
Their weaponry.

But now their war-field lies in ruin
Homes and mem’ries sunken in the mud
Shredding wind and murky flood
Have taken all.