The Latinx in Publishing Writers Mentorship Showcase series features excerpts by our Class of 2020 mentees from the projects they’ve developed with the guidance of their mentors.
The LxP Writers Mentorship Program is an annual volunteer-based initiative that offers the opportunity for unpublished and/or unagented writers who identify as Latinx (mentees) to strengthen their craft, gain first-hand industry knowledge, and expand their professional connections through work with experienced published authors (mentors).
Below is a piece from one of our 2020 mentees in adult poetry, Gustavo Barahona-López:
Quarantine Meditation
After Rona Luo
Close your eyes, feel the sensation,
your clothes against your body.
I close my eyes and gift my nerve-
endings all of my attention.
Feel the sensation of the air
touching your skin.
My child envelops his toddler
hand around my pinky.
Visualize a white light,
follow it through the forest.
My child pulls me away
saying Come, come.
Cross the river, you see your
ancestor on the shoreline.
I glance at my face on Zoom,
see my past in my features.
Your ancestor gives you a gift:
an object, a hug, a few words.
My father gifts me his eyes,
I stare into our hazel irises.
Return to the forest, listen
to the leaves. What do you see?
My child climbs on me and
stands upright on my thigh.
Arms ready themselves to catch
but my child does not waver.
Used with permission from the author, copyright (c) Gustavo Barahona-López 2020.
Gustavo Barahona-López is a poet and educator from Richmond, California. In his writing, Barahona-López draws from his experience growing as the son of Mexican immigrants. His micro-chapbook 'Where Will the Children Play?' is part of the Ghost City Press 2020 Summer Series. Barahona-López's work can be found or is forthcoming in Iron Horse Literary Review, Puerto del Sol, The Acentos Review, Apogee Journal, Hayden’s Ferry Review, among other publications. Twitter: @TruthSinVerdad Website: https://linktr.ee/gustavobarahonalopez
