our truck gathers speed as we approach the hills of el valle and for
a few seconds i am in flight we accelerate embark the horizon’s
next hill we brake drive past algodón pull to the side of the
road terremotos on perfectly spaced rows i follow my father
plucks a boll exposes white fibers in my palm where clothes come
from he says fertile is my father’s land
Gabriela Ybarra Lemmons was born and raised in South Texas, a stone’s throw from the Rio Grande. She was raised by migrant workers and earned her MFA in creative writing from the University of Kansas. She is currently a dual language teacher in Topeka, Kansas.
