Manuelita La Mariposa

My friend suggested I name you
on your third visit to my yard.

You, mellowing in the center
on my magnificent
Mexican sunflowers of
tangerine petals.

Sharon said planting them
would bring the butterflies—
that word, having wings of its own,
entered my head as
mariposas

porque esa es la palabra que conozco mejor
porque esa es la palabra que conocí primero.

I named you, Manuelita.
It had to start with M, for mariposa

and M for migration and
M for Michoacán,
the place of your journey’s end.

My family’s migration occurred
generations ago from
the very place you are heading.

Let the burrowed air of your path
carry my own winged memories
to a place where we once belonged.

Eloisa Gómez is co-author of Somos Latinas: Voices of Wisconsin Latina Activists. Her poetry reflects experiences of central city life, acculturation, and the meaning of familia. Her poem, “Charlie's Coat,” was included in the 2018 Bards against Hunger Chapbook.  She was an invited poet for a 2021 Poetry in the Park Series and is a WFOP member.