Down the Almendra Tree

Melissa Frias

Ripe almendra. source: My Sustainable Adventures

mi negrita,
dark everywhere
except for her knees —
peeled canela,
dotted red —
cries into her fruit. 

mi negrita
in the green ponchera
pauses her howls
for a third bite of sour,
pissed the branches
let her down.

mi negrita
quiets in my arms
under pepe cuentos
en la galeria;
rock in her palm
ready for the pit.

mi negrita
pulls the shell apart,
chews on her prize
en el patio,
where negrita
means beautiful.

Melissa Frias is a Washington Heights native, studying Childhood Education and Creative Writing at The City College of New York. Melissa is a book hoarder and a lover of marginalized voices in literature. @mel_frias