‘Summer Mangos’
Aaron Beck is a poet and artist. This work examines the coming into being of a trans person.
Summer Mangos
—After Jose Hernandez Diaz’s The Jaguar and the Mango
The sweetest sunsets remind me of ripe summer mangos
Like those my father would peel gently with his skillful hands
He would show me how to hold the knife, but I was too distracted
Admiring the mangos skin, a spectrum of
Wine blushes and golden ambers
Citrus honey sunbeams with a hint of emerald green
A dash of lime, salt, and chilé to taste
My eyes squinted while my lips smiled wide
Staring into the deep turquoise sky on a late August day
Eating miniature sunsets and embracing summer’s final days
Karina Guardiola Lopez is a New York City-born writer, poet, and educator, now residing in New Jersey. Her work has been featured in Press Pause Press, Acentos Review, Indolent Books, New Brunswick Public Library, Moonstone Art Center and other publications. Karina has performed at notable venues including the New York City Poetry Festival, The National Black Theatre, Nuyorican Poets Cafe, and Bowery Poetry Club, among many others.
