Adolfo Guzman López is a radio journalist and poet. As a journalist, he has been a reporter for the NPR affiliate in Los Angeles, KPCC, since 2000. As a poet, Guzman López is working on a poetry collection. His poem, “Nothing ot Declare,” is the first of several poems in the up-coming collection that will appear on Latinopia.
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Nothing to Declare.
I was brought to this valley
To see clouds explode over mountains
I was brought to this ocean
To see waves crumble thousand-year old cliffs
I left on Ash Wednesday
Hoping it would take no more than 45 days
To find
To lose
The road here
Littered with accents
Sprouting
Withered
That little bag
Inside
Hides my secrets
I have nothing to declare
Nada that might deliver you from bondage
Nada that would keep me from coming here
My tongue cramps
Ñ
Ll
Se atrofia
No puedo
Say mas
I can’t mask it any more
The magical book of my youth
Gives way to pledge of allegiance
Green, white and red
Red, white and blue
The little bag becomes a sack
The little bag becomes a trunk
The little bag becomes the globe
I have nothing to declare
The roots on my feet are snapping
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Copyright 2018 by Adolfo Guzman Lopez