Open Mic: Puerto Rico Transcript

te amo, me amas
© 2017 Isabel Pask

IN MEMORY OF NORMA ELSIRA VILA MARTIN (1925-2018)

...te amo, me amas... (SINGING)

(HEARTBEAT PLAYS UNDER POEM, PAUSING AT THE END OF EACH VERSE.)

i am carrying puerto rico for you abuela
she is heavy and sometimes i don’t know what to do with her
i hide her in the corner of the room
packed away in a neat little box
or i let her hide me
wrap myself in her heaviness
singing boleros and smelling like sofrito

(A CAR HORN. A BUS PASSING. FOOTSTEPS ON A CITY SIDEWALK.)

last summer in san juan
you almost didn’t recognize her
you almost didn’t recognize
your country disguised in bright lights
unfamiliar street corners, loud busy nights
and McDonalds
people walk through the streets with their heads down low

i will learn how to make pasteles for you abuela
peel fifty cloves of garlic
fold the banana leaves into little envelopes
brush them with oil
and toil for three days
tie them with string
in neat little bows just to show you i know
how you need puerto rico to grow in me

abuela i feel her blooming
stretching and dancing
on pointed feet
arms outstretched and reaching
fingers in the atlantic
callused feet in the Caribbean

abuela
i’m sorry
they told you that your language
would hold your children back

abuela
i’m sorry
that every evening at dusk
when you called my mother in for dinner
(vowels reaching long and unafraid)
clutching the pot of dinner you made
(CHILDREN ON A PLAYGROUND.)
that the neighborhood kids laughed at you as they played
they did not realize that beauty could sound unashamed
and unfamiliar

abuelita i’m sorry that puerto rico is hurting
powerless and misunderstood
drowning in her own waters while government just stood watching
just talking about how much responsibility belongs to the States
people sit at their desks disappointed and irate  
because this “incident” has ruined their vacation
what CNN is calling an apocalyptic devastation
while the nation steps up to take care of Texas

this proud little island is patiently waiting for arms to reach out
but powerful people hide hands in pockets
having stolen in droves to feed their own mouths
enjoying full bellies from the riches of a crying island
turning their faces away until someone worthy enough is dying and then
they will feel compelled to change the filter on their profile
(A LIGHT SWITCHING ON, OFF, ON, OFF, ON, OFF.)
while children wait in the dark for light to shine on a dream-soaked isle

abuela
forgive me
for not knowing how to love her like you do

i will help carry puerto rico for you abuela
she is heavy and sometimes i don’t know what to do with her
she is fragile and bullheaded
she curls up and sleeps against the walls of my heart
(i sing her lullabies so she will not leave) 
...somos una gran familia... (SINGING)
she claws at the corners of my mouth begging to be free
begging to be seen.

...te amo,me amas... (SINGING)

(HEARTBEAT.)

© Isabel Pask, 2017

Puerto Rico
© 1986, 1987 Gloria E. Perez,

De mi Puerto Rico te deseo hablar,
de esa bella isla rodeada del mar.
(OCEANS WAVES.)
Island of enchantment, home of the coqui
(COQUIS SINGING.)
with majestic mountains and towering trees.

Soles incansables ejercen su poder,
(CHURCH BELL RINGING.)
desde el claro del día hasta el oscurecer.
(COQUIS SINGING.)
Where the sun shines and the rooster crows,
(A ROOSTER CROWS.)
and the humble peasant sees his seeds grow.

Montanas y paisajes que inspiran a poetas
tal como Rene Marques y su linda Carreta.
(AN OXCART ON A COUNTRY ROAD.)
Humildes campesinos te ofrecen lo que tienen,
(AN AIRPLANE LANDING.)
nostalgiosos isleños regresar todos quieren.

(A CHORUS OF ISLAND SOUNDS.)

I want to you to know of my special island
Mi isla encantadora donde nací
Of my special island I want you to know
truly an enchantment, I love her so.

Mi isla encantadora donde nací,
hoy yo te honro a ti.

© Gloria E. Perez, 1986, 1987