Speaking in Tongues

by Romina Ramos

When I say I’m cleaning
what I mean is there is whiskey
pouring from my pores, the stale stench
of bad decisions clings to my hair
like old cigarette smoke.

When I say I’m doing laundry
what I mean is there have been piles
of neatly folded mistakes purring at the foot
of the bed for weeks now so that I
can’t sleep at night anymore.

When I say I’m writing
what I mean is therapy is not cheap
when you have to choose between eating or heat.
When the rich eat the poor, spit them back out
then force feed them to the streets.

When I say I’m trying
what I mean is allow me, what I mean is
I’m tired but this world is trying me.
These tragedies are tying us together
in dying times we must become weather.

When I say we are rain
what I mean is there is strength in unison
we can make it impossible for the players
on the field, we can make it muddy and murky.
what I mean is we are hope.