Written By: Eliza Josephson
Come, learn Spanish in Queens.
Let el idioma de Antonio Banderas,
los canciones de Shakira,
las historias de Don Quixote
and his windmills consume you.
Speak the language
of workers and Joaquín.
In Jackson Heights,
we urge to always be feliz,
Because while absorbing Spanish,
Estoy en gusto, because
It is “mi salsa”.
Learn Español with a side of fries,
Español scribbled onto the menú
at the restaurante nearby,
Español melting onto the corn arepa
that soaks up the workday,
Español oozing out of the
carne y lechuga taco
you made on Tuesday.
So come, from as far as Rockaway.
Ven aquí, and learn nuestro Español.
And if alguien nos pregunta,
¿Hablas español? You’ll reply,
raising your head up with glee,
¡Pues, yeah, puedo hablar un poco de
Español!
And the conjugations appear
en tu mente and waft
over your head as you
speak, the predicates
spilling along your tongue.
You transform into amor.
And pasión. And vida.
While their
faces contort,
mouths agape.
No longer are you just
an outer-borough,
bridge and tunnel,
monolingual gringa.
Learn more about Eliza Josephson here.