YOUTH PORTFOLIO

Loved

By LETICIA GUZMAN  |  26 APR 2023

The truth came to me through muddy hands and silly smiles.
In knotted laces, I learned patience.
And in cups neither of us can reach, I learned grace.
I learned laughter can brush off bloody knees,
And sometimes a hug can cure my loneliness.
I used to think myself unloved,
but my niece made me smoothie,
and my nephew gave me a nickname.
They asked why I look pretty
and if I read long poems in front of people.
There are nights they stay up waiting for me—
ask when I’ll be home,
ask if I brought blue Gatorade. As if to say
Did you think about me,
or Did you miss me too?

Leticia Guzman is a Youth Speaks alumna. Her work has appeared in the Youth Speaks anthology, Between My Body and The Air, and the Steve Martin and Edie Brickell musical, Bright Star. Guzman, a queer Chicana poeta, uses writing to heal her inner child. She resides in Hayward, California.

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