Poem for you by Paul Laraque

in my two hands
I'm holding a book on the life of Jacques Roumain
your breathing lifts your breast
It's your beauty that moves
an there's a painful human hope
protecting tomorrow from today's hell
I dream I dream of Guernica
I embrace you I embrace you
and may the voice of Lorca live on
the breathless wind stretches itself out up the sea


exact like the sword of clarity
o raging poetry from all the jungles forged
a shadow is terrified by the torch of Cesaire
and the word of Paul Eluard
cutting the knot of evil
eonfer on the dignity of  art
the evidence of crystal

I blend you with all I hold dear
you are blood in the flesh
you are saddened and smile in the eyes of peasants
and there's oxygen in the air
when your look wears the light
of our grandest summer skies
I think about the man I used to be
gone with the waves of life
I'm reborn in the root of your desire
don't say Im raving
we will pass through the Manchurian border
be it in  Vietnam or in the Congo
Madrid or Santo Domingo
be it in Harlem or in Cap-Haitien

everywhere sadness is like a yeast
our anger swells
o thunder of thunder
we'll be carrying the axe and the flame

your lips  is my wound
red of the first dawn
where goldmerchants are dying
and the people's blood quietly burns
like water's heart at its source
but when the river begins to flow
nothing can stop the proletarian march
a new sun is lighting up the earth

Sandra Cisnernos "Caramelo: A Novel"

Lala has to go to Mexico with her 6 brothers ,mother and father to visit THE AWFUL  GRANDMOTHER

.The fact that they will be going to Alcapolco doesn't seem to cheer them up as much as it should so you know it's going to be a rough time . I mean who doesn't like some sun and turf.  Unfortunately the cantankerous relationship between Lala's mother and grandmother come to a head as the grandmother
reveals a very explosive secret.

My overall impression:I felt like this novel had an homespun,organic feel to it. Very true to form alot
like " The House On Mango Street" without being a shoddy duplicate.I love how she interlaced Spanish and English. I was very impressed with her ability to bring the plot back to previous point in time without messing the flow. It was like watching a skilled juggler , she makes it seem so effortless.

Writer's style:   If I had to pick the one quality that explains why she is one of my favorite authors, I would have to say authenticity.  Of course I could never get away with just using one word.I find her naturally warm, funny and just intellectual enough to keep you etertained and not bored to tears.  I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars.  I bought this one from the Half Price book store in my area and it will remain with my  PERMANENT COLLECTION.