Como la Luz Through Lace

Written & Illustrated by Vanessa Shive

A flower, a woven thought, a hope things I hold to hide.

The faces disappear not because they are lost but because they are resting.

Because some things deserve privacy.

Because being held is safer than being exposed.

Still, what we carry glows.

A bouquet from Domingo de Ramos.

Palms folded with care.

Fe passed hand to hand.

Memory pressed into something delicate.

And always, underneath it all el cordero, kept close.

Even in silence we are known.

Even in hiding we are present.

What we hold gives us away sweetly, quietly, like light through lace.

The objects reveal me.

I think I am hiding pero son mi esencia, dispersa y brillante, held out in my own hands.

This time has taught me how to move gently.

How to step lightly through the world.

Saber cuándo dejarse ver and when to tuck myself into quiet.

There is a softness I wear now like armor.

Sunglasses catching the sun.

El pelo imaginado más claro.

A small wish that blending in might feel like peace.

Faceless porque algunos miedos viven más profundo que el lenguaje.

Y el cordero no se resiste.

Yo tampoco.

Los dos entendemos lo que significa existir en un mundo que no sabe cargar lo delicado sin dañarlo.

Cargo la ternura como me enseñaron con cuidado, cerca del pecho, con miedo de que la inocencia solo sobreviva si nunca la sueltas.

No sé si lo que cargo es tradición o memoria, con forma de ternura.

Solo sé que lo sostengo con cuidado.

Como si algo sagrado todavía necesitara protección.