ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I thank God for poetry.

I am grateful to my husband and the rest of our family, especially my mother, who taught me to love poetry.

Special thanks to the memory of my abuelita Fefa and bisabuelita Ana Dominga for their reverence for poetry, especially Rubén Darío’s. I am grateful to Carol Zapata-Whelan, Emily Aguilo-Pérez, Alma Flor Ada, Isabel Campoy, David Rojas, and Claire Annette Noland.

Profound gratitude to my agent, Michelle Humphrey; my wonderful editor, Reka Simonsen; and the whole Atheneum publishing team.