“Americans detained when overheard speaking Spanish”

and I wonder out loud,
¿Qué es esto?
Since when did bilingualism become a crime?
My bones tremble in Spanish, qué miedo
and I stuff
my double r’s and my ñ’s in between
my cheeks.
I hold them hostage.
I’d rather them be detained than I.

     Pero

I think of my daughter
and I put my immigrant fears aside.
I spit out my chewed-up Spanish alphabet
onto a plate and feed each letter to her
for breakfast, lunch, dinner.
I tell her,
“Pruébalas, saborealas, tragatelas,”
because they say
“you are what you eat,”
and you, mi niña
are American and Dominicana.

This article appears in September 2025.