A Poem by Amelia Díaz Ettinger

The shell of a mollusk

Me han traído una caracola
—Federico García Lorca

Who gave you la caracola
that filled you with salt?
That freedom, 
protection 
in the gift of a seashell 
in your Grenadian hands.
Did your eyes spark
at the sight,
the home of a simple mollusk?
Hard and soft life gleaming
near the spheres of heaven
pouring on your dry soil.
	—la caracola
that made your joy sublime
across verses for children
across the sand of your homeland
	for such a short time.
Did you hold it close,
in the bullfighting ring,
when they split you open?

About the author

Amelia Díaz Ettinger is a ‘Mexi-Rican,’ born in México but raised in Puerto Rico, BIPOC poet and writer.  She has two full-length poetry books published; Learning to Love a Western Sky by Airlie Press, and a bilingual poetry book, Speaking at a Time /Hablando a  la Vez by Redbat Press.  A historical/environmental poetry chapbook, Fossils in a Red Flag is being released by Finishing Line Press, in 2021. Presently, Amelia Díaz Ettinger is working on an MFA in creative writing at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande, Oregon.