The Ofi Press Magazine
International Poetry and Literature from Mexico City
Mutant ~For all bilinguals who hide their accents well.
I look like you But not quite like you Hiding in plain sight, another me Waits for the right moment
English is a tennis ball In a well-matched game Lobbing back and forth between us When my phone interrupts our play
Just a second, I say While I answer my call
Mama’s voice rings out And I suddenly morph Your head turns back, thoughtful As my inner form appears
A few notches louder than before My melody soothes you Your apprehension melts away As you listen without understanding
I didn’t come to confuse Only entrance Linguistic dance A bilingual romance
With you I am an English master A domain I rule Then, in a second, I’ve switched That girl is gone
Y ahora estoy aqui A master of Spanish as well It's easy to lose yourself Under my sonorous spell, isn't it?
Consonantes crujientes y vocales abiertas Are tendrils from my tongue Attracting your ears To drown in my sensuous sounds
Ni sabes lo que oyes But you are hypnotized Looking at me like a trainwreck You cannot ignore
Solo que aqui It is a trainwreck inside me Who is this girl? Your eyes ask
I say “Adios, Mama Te quiero mucho”
And the spell is broken My English returns with my other me Whom you recognize slowly As the me you know
That girl is back My inner nature veiled once more You won’t remember But I’ll never forget
The way your eyes Saw my other side Glimpsed at that reality And didn’t recognize who I was
I smile from inside Waiting for the next time I’ll appear. | Poem by Eloísa Peréz-Lozano (USA) Published in issue 39 of The Ofi Press
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About the Poet
Eloísa Pérez-Lozano grew up bilingual and bicultural in Houston, Texas, where she currently resides. She graduated from Iowa State University with her M.S. in journalism and mass communication and her B.S. in psychology. She is a long-distance member of the Latino Writers Collective in Kansas City and she was selected to be a Juried Poet during the 2014 Houston Poetry Fest. Her poetry has been featured in The Bayou Review, Illya’s Honey, the Johnson County Library’s 2014 Poem-a-Day Program, and the 2014 Houston Poetry Fest Anthology.
Image by Mr. Hayata.