This poem is based off of Ana Castillo's book So Far From God. A novel that shaped my younger years when I was searching for words to describe my experience and identity as a Latin@/woman of color in the US. The style of Post Card poem is taken from another poet by the name of Marty McConnell who had a series of post cards written in different voices to her or by her to someone else. Enjoy!
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From: Patriarchy To: Ana Castillo
who told you, you could write about
jaguar women
who said you could speak
about bleeding ripped nipples
who allowed you to turn women's meaningless lives
into tomes
who do you think you are
writing about men like that?
boogey men bent over wooden figures
obsessing over the inability to tame women
who said you could reveal our deepest secrets
crushed hymens bruised purple, crusted in crimson
then our daily resurrections
Christ-like we fly into the atmosphere
immaculate like we were never punctured, beatened, disfigured
who told you you could write about the everyday smell of sulfur
every day open game for some man's hunt
vigilantly reminding us of our place at the end of a gun
Bruja, Curandera who told you
you could use your own
menstrual blood as ink
how dare you speak in two languages
paint metaphors with your tongue
who said you could write about the mares
whispering future into the threads of our dreams
How dare you let those two women
jump off the face of a cliff
how dare they not be held captive
held accountable for their girl child dreams
how dare you let them run into the azure sky
boundless
-C.Izaguirre 2009
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