I Still Remember

I remember sleeping outdoors
In hot summer nights
Waking up to the sound
Of the roosters
In that old catre with you.

Two little girls
Running on the beach
Waves splashing on our toes
Warm sand
Bare feet.

Sun-kissed brown skin
Picking up seashells
Black hair undone, flying free
Gazing upon an endless
Turquoise sea.

Last Saturday at the beach
Two young girls dancing together
Around the improvised fire
Under the moonlight.

Dancing around the fire
As our ancestors did
Purifying themselves
Before a battle
We did not know
We were unprepared
Unarmed
Alone.

It was Mother’s Day
When she took her
Last breath
There were no
Farewells
No kisses for her.

Life was but an illusion
We grew up ten years
That day
Over tequila shots
And our shared pain.

You might think I forgot
But I still remember
And my soul travels at night
Like a ghost haunting places.

Alma Guadalupe Rothfork