“
- Tracy K. Smith, closing lines to “Vaya, Camarón,” in Duende: Poems (Graywolf Press, 2007)
It used to be, you’d open your mouth
And the weather changed. You’d
Open your mouth and the sky’d spill
That dry, missing-someone kind of rain
No matter the season. And it hurt
Like a guitar hurts under the right hands.
Like a good strong spell. Now
You’re all song. Body gone to memory.
And guess what? It hurts
Harder.
”- Tracy K. Smith, closing lines to “Vaya, Camarón,” in Duende: Poems (Graywolf Press, 2007)