Yo te amo

Maybe there’s some
scientific reason
she gets the urge to hug
whenever we’re
jammed together
in the rush-hour huddle.

 

Thank God, she knows better
than to cuddle—in public.
Instead, while the train
screeches to the next station
she leans down
to whisper in my ear
Yo te amo con
todo mi corazón.
If no one else can hear
I figure it’s okay

to smile.

Don’t ask me
who she learned
that expression from
but someone
must’ve told my mom
that Spanish is
the language of love

’cause

she’s been speaking
mushy Puerto Rican

to me
for years.