There’s a big red star circling around the creek,
saying, “come over,”
signaling music to dance through the dark.
So, brightened smiles, sharing twisted, bended realities, glories, and newfound safe havens for midnight darlings,
waving shifting stories.
Tag: CUNY
One Day on the NYC Subway
In 2019, I studied in an Intensive English class on Riverside Drive at 89th Street. After class, my friend Awetash and I spent our free time exploring the city. We used the subway to go everywhere, and it was an adventure. One day, we went to the Brooklyn Bridge, taking the express train downtown. It was summer, and the subway was hot and full.
Strangers
What does a deli vendor talk about on the phone when he wraps me up a bagel with cream cheese?
Guys from delis are always on their phones.
I imagine faraway voices from countries where they lived with their brothers.
Rotisserie Chicken
Gregory came to the United States in 1979. Having a difficult and deprived childhood in El Salvador made him realize that he wanted a better life. At the age of 17, he arrived in New York with his best friend, Marco. Nothing was easy for them. They found many barriers, including finding shelter and learning a totally new language, but their hopes of a better life and opportunities never stopped them from overcoming the challenges they encountered.
Lost Memories
That day, the date with my boyfriend was at a fancy restaurant on top of a mountain. The sunset alone was beautiful enough, but seeing my boyfriend on his knee, asking me if I wanted to marry him, was even better. Crying, I said yes and decided to marry my beloved. My heart beat fast and loudly, and I couldn’t wait to tell my mother about my new fiancé.
Why They Called Me Mercedes
My name is Gloria Mercedes Parra.
They call me Miche, Merceditas, Meche.
People who know me call me Mama Michisita because that’s what they used to call my grandmother.
Haiti, January 12, 2010
I was only 11 years old. None of us knew that our lives would be changed drastically in a matter of hours. I started the day by getting ready for school; as on a typical Tuesday, I had a piano lesson after class from 4:30 until 5:00 p.m. The day went by as usual for my friends and me; we were dismissed at 2:00 p.m., as usual. I called my mom to tell her that I was not feeling well, and that I didn’t want to stay for my piano lesson. She understood and came to pick me up.
Train
I was 10 years old, and my grandparents and I were coming back from Sochi by train, after spending three weeks near the sea. There, we swam and sunbathed, and I tried to ride a motorcycle boat for the first time. That was my first long trip. To travel by train from Sochi to Omsk takes three days.
For Jack
I never went to high school, but I passed the TASC exam and received my High School Equivalency diploma in 2017. In New York, there are programs offering a chance to acquire HSE credentials to someone who hasn’t been able to complete high school. That is, if you can pass all five tests, including reading, writing, social studies, science, and mathematics. The program I joined was founded by a 92-year-old man who had two teachers and a receptionist working with him. Approximately 30 students studied there.
Lost and Found
“What would you like?” asked a barista in Dunkin’ Donuts when it was my husband’s turn to get his coffee.
“Large coffee with milk and two sugars, please,” replied my husband, Omar. When the lady went to make his coffee, however, he noticed a wallet on the counter. Looking toward the door, he saw that the man who had been in front of him was leaving.
The Light of a Survivor
Deep in the intimacy of my soul, full of darkness, fears, and sorrows, there is a tiny light of hope, a very thin but strong string that suspends me in the infinite waves of my despair and doesn’t let me fall all the way down. It is this little force inside that helps me overcome the tumbling days of my history. It leads me to go forward one more day, to continue on the road; it makes me accept my mistakes, defeat my fears and convert my sorrows into calm. It turns me into a survivor.
Lessons from a Lawsuit
I never thought I would be a restaurant owner before I moved to the United States. For six years I have owned and run a fancy dine-in Thai restaurant on Long Island. When I first became a restaurant owner, it was not easy. I felt very stressed every day in the first few years, but eventually everything started to run smoothly. Despite the long hours and often feeling exhausted, I was happy because my restaurant paid my bills and took care of my family. I thought my life would continue like this until I retired, but one day everything changed.
Eyes
I like to sit on my porch and look at the pink trunks of pines and the tall, dark-green pyramids of cypresses. I watch the birds quarreling in their branches, and then my eyes move to the background and follow the hazy blue gradient of the forests and hills dissolving at the horizon. The colors, the shapes—what a gift to see them. I am scared to think that I could have ended up in the darkness.
Why Is Your Skin Color Like That?
We grow up hearing, “Why is your skin color like that? Why is your hair like that? Why are you fat like that? Why are you short like that? Why is your voice like that?” Day by day our confidence decreases. We forget we are beautiful. We become very shy and then afraid to speak, afraid to go anywhere, especially wherever there are groups of people.
How I Encountered My Wife
In September 2010, I was invited by friends to spend some time at their place in Brooklyn. At that time, I was still living in Paris. On September 26th, almost at the end of my stay, I went down in the subway to go to visit another friend, in Tribeca. At around eight in the …