Cara Aceitunada
In Granada
a man asked
for the birds inside of me
I told him I’ve never
belonged to anyone
He asked
where I was from
I gave him a list of cities
He said
the mirrors of history
confuse history
but in your olive-colored face
no one can disturb your heart
a man asked
for the birds inside of me
I told him I’ve never
belonged to anyone
He asked
where I was from
I gave him a list of cities
He said
the mirrors of history
confuse history
but in your olive-colored face
no one can disturb your heart
Share this column
Disclaimer
We do not accept unsolicited submissions. American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2020 by Nathalie Handal, “Cara Aceitunada” from A Country Album (University of Pittsburgh Press 2020.) Poem reprinted by permission of the author and the publisher. Introduction copyright © 2024 by The Poetry Foundation.