A Poem for a Thursday #232

Jimmy Santiago Baca is an American poet, memoirist, and screenwriter. He had a difficult childhood and at age 13 he ran away from the orphanage he had been placed in. By age 21 he was convicted on charges of drug possession and incarcerated for 5 years. While he was in prison he taught himself to read and write and started to compose poetry. Baca’s writing “revolves around the marginalized and disenfranchised, treating themes of addiction, community, and the American Southwest barrios.” Baca says of his writing, “I approach language as if it will contain who I am as a person.”

I am offering this poem to you,
since I have nothing else to give.
Keep it like a warm coat
when winter comes to cover you,
or like a pair of thick socks
the cold cannot bite through,

                           I love you,

I have nothing else to give you,
so it is a pot full of yellow corn
to warm your belly in winter,
it is a scarf for your head, to wear
over your hair, to tie up around your face,

                          I love you,

Keep it, treasure this as you would
if you were lost, needing direction,
in the wilderness life becomes when mature;
and in the corner of your drawer,
tucked away like a cabin or hogan
in dense trees, come knocking,
and I will answer, give you directions,
and let you warm yourself by this fire,
rest by this fire, and make you feel safe

                         I love you,

It's all I have to give,
and all anyone needs to live,
and to go on living inside,
when the world outside
no longer cares if you live or die;
remember,

                          I love you.

I Am Offering This Poem
Jimmy Santiago Baca