Little Bruja
There’s nothing left except to try.
—Mrs. Whatsit in A Wrinkle in Time
I tried, believe me, I did, but my cheap Caribou jeans
and Buster Brown polos couldn’t match the prestige
of Levi’s, Nikes, Lacoste worn by my fifth-grade classmates
who visited Magic Kingdom every summer. There was
Claudia with her button-y nose and perfect smile;
blonde and green-eyed Caroline. Despite her rumpled clothes,
she looked like a queen. And then Federico, who pulled
my braids and boasted about meeting Mickey Mouse. I said
mice are dirty, they poop everywhere, will make you sick.
You’d know, he sneered—I wished him gone. Abuela told me
about giving mal de ojo to a woman who spoke ill of her.
The woman got sick, almost died. One day Federico fell,
pierced his knee on a sharp piece of metal. I whispered in his ear
as he wailed: I don’t need to go to Magic Kingdom. Magic is in my blood.
Copyright © 2025 by Leonora Simonovis. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on April 10, 2025, by the Academy of American Poets.
“My grandmother and great-grandmother taught me how important it is for us, as women of Indigenous descent, to stand proud no matter the circumstances, to speak up even when we know others won’t understand or listen. In this poem, language is primal connection, shelter, and shield. It gives us access to the stories that make us who we are, to the words that create the prayers, spells, and rituals that protect us from those who wish us harm.”
—Leonora Simonovis
Leonora Simonovis
Leonora Simonovis is a Venezuelan American poet, educator, and scholar.