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issue 4: MIXTAPE

xochimilco

MIA AGUILERA
after Te He Prometido—Leo Dan
I want to fly like Huitzilopochtli,
sunlight shimmering
on my hummingbird wings.

                                                          Feel my heart pound
                                                          so fast it does not beat
                                                          but hum.

                             On the canals there is color.
                             Red, green, blue, yellow, pink

                                                                                   carved wooden flowers
                                                                                   saying, soy dulce.

A peacock takes flight.

                                                          On a passing boat,
                                                          abuelos croon “Te He Prometido”
                                                          and I sing along as I wind into dusk.

              Light ripples on the water.
              I close my eyes.

                                         Lick the horchata
                                         ​off my chin.

Mia Aguilera received her MFA from Northern Arizona University. Her work has appeared in Lux, Ghost City Review, and River Teeth’s “Beautiful Things” column. When she is not writing, she spends her time working at Strand Book Store.
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header photo: mohamed arif (unsplash)

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