Caridad Moro

Contemplation of a Name
                          For Stacie

Stay,
          see
                    if I don’t taste of guayaba and mamey, sweet guarapo thick as my hips
                    swaying sweaty Celia Cruz rhythms in black-seamed stockings and Cuban
                    heels.

Stay,
           see
                    if I don’t bring Dutch parrot tulips, orange and red blazes for your table,
                    Belgian chocolat pyramid stacked on Virginia’s dishes for your buffet,
                    the essence of French lavender in a cobalt decanter for your vanity.

Stay,
           see
                    if I don’t pick three trifectas in a row, read stray pony hairs strewn like tea
                    leaves across the stable, kiss you at the window, winners.

Stay,
           see
                    if I don’t learn that song you love, pour it in your ear, my voice sediment
                    settling in your heart, silt that sifts through your veins with every beat.

Stay,
           see
                    if I don’t warrant the wait of avocados, figs, or kumquats, whatever your
                    fruit—even the pomegranate, so delicious you forgive its seeds.






Caridad Moro's poetry has appeared in numerous journals including The Crab Orchard Review, The Comstock Review, MiPoesias, The Seattle Review, CALYX, Spillway, The Pedestal, Slipstream, Fifth Wednesday Journal and others. She is the recipient of a Florida Individual Artist Fellowship in poetry, and her work has been thrice nominated for a Pushcart. Her chapbook Visionware is available from Finishing Line Press.