Because I am the horse drowning in the river / because I am the bull not fit for sacrifice / because I miss you / because I lost myself in your shadow / because this morning the sunlight was not enough / because I liked seeing you eat with your hands / because I still remember your mother’s voice / because she is now in her deathbed and God has forgotten how to say the word mercy / because I can hear the rooster’s dark crow breaking my window at dawn / because I have no door to open and walk back into myself / because my thirst is the unsung song in your throat / because / because / because

Octavio Quintanilla is the author of the poetry collection, IF I GO MISSING. Connect on IG @writeroctavioquintanilla