NO LONGER A TEENAGER

I’m hired by La Nación, the same famous

Argentine newspaper that publishes my hero,

José Martí, the Cuban poet I think of as a mentor

even though I’ve never met him.

My editor wants one new poem each day.

It seems impossible, but I’m sure I can do it,

if I keep reading the verses of others, to find

inspiration.

Martí praises freedom, equality, and hope.

I treasure the same themes, but everyone says

that my style is completely new, musical rhythms

filled with colors that resemble paintings

by impressionists, the sentences in prose poems

made short, simple, and visual

by my love of art

and love of love.