BIO
Li Yun Alvarado is the author of the chapbooks Words or Water and Nuyorico, CA. A poet and scholar, her work has appeared in Wise Latinas: Writers on Higher Education; The Acentos Review; Aster(ix), and Cura: A Literary Magazine of Art and Action, among others. She has served as the Senior Poetry Editor for Kweli Journal and is an alumna of VONA/Voices Writing Workshop and AROHO. Li Yun is a native New Yorker living in California who takes frequent trips to Salinas, Puerto Rico to visit la familia. www.liyunalvarado.com
Zika
Zika Virus:
mosquito
borne mal
de ojo.
In Puerto Rico,
19 cases east
of my family’s
pueblo, donde
despedimos
el año
una semana
después de
concepción.
The night
we found out
I was pregnant,
you exclaimed,
“Good! We need
more smart people
in this world!”
Later, we watched
news reports,
braved blood
draws. Waited.
For
our brilliant
child or our
gutting. Our
goodbyes.