Cenzontle

In this lyrical, imagistic debut, Marcelo Hernández Castillo creates a nuanced narrative of life before, during, and after crossing the U.S.–Mexico border. These poems explore the emotional fallout of immigration, the illusion of the American dream via the fallacy of the nuclear family, the latent anxieties of living in a queer, brown, undocumented body within a heterosexual marriage, and the ongoing search for belonging. Finding solace in the resignation to sheer possibility, these poems challenge us to question the potential ways in which two people can interact, love, give birth, and mourn—sometimes all at once.