me llamo viento

By ire’ne lara silva

Song lyrics from “Caballo Prieto Azabache” by José “Pepe” Albarrán Martínez

they announce us      Valentina Covarrubias montada en Viento
my girl does not cower           does not wave or smile           her face is
proud and solemn      her shoulders are set back       her hands steady on
the reins           her eyes stare at the crowds    gathered all around us as if to
say       my name may be Valentina     but it should be Valiente

her abuelo carved me from the old mesquite that stretched impossibly
across the land of his rancho    singing all the while     caballo prieto
azabache         cómo olvidarte, te debo la vida             laughing as he
changed the lyrics about Pancho Villa             and with his own hands he
worked his dead horse’s jet-black mane into the wood       and made it mine

my girl is too young they say                 to compete on a flesh and blood
horse   her sixth birthday is still months away         but her heart is a
warrior’s heart             she trots and gallops for me and makes my name a
true name           she dreams of me loves me believes in me     when we ride
together             she is the wind             i am the wind         we are the wind

Notes:

This poem is part of the portfolio “Escaramuza, the Poetics of Home.” You can read the rest of the portfolio in the April 2025 issue. 

Source: Poetry (April 2025)
  • Article

    poetry-magazine

    Introduction: Escaramuza, the Poetics of Home

    By Constance Jaeggi

    This folio pairs my photographic portraits of US-based escaramuzas with commissioned poetry by the Mexican American poets ire’ne lara silva and Angelina Sáenz.