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nostalgia is a hurricane

Ketsia Ramos

Read this in Spanish

papi taught me about nostalgia
with his old cassette tapes
on the 350

above all, I remember Jaramillo
I imagine he also cried
and has tried not to forget
but I don’t blame him

sometimes you have to fight with the air
destroy walls that once protected
and take out the smell by burning things

I recognize you were there, Pá
—in your own way—
that at times
there isn’t enough body to be present
and that’s ok

I forgive myself for hating
I forgive you for not understanding till this date
that I try to bring you closer

I forgive us for the rupture

you and I are a loose end
trying to return to a place that will never exist again
(or so I think)

I will forever keep your last te amo
and the embrace that could only be brought by disaster

Ketsia Ramos is a transdisciplinary artist from Adjuntas, Puerto Rico, artist in residence of Taller Libertá, and founder of Edtorial Casa Cuna and the festival LA JUNTILLA. They have exhibited their work for more than a decade across the Caribbean and South America in an effort to decentralize the arts. Their recent publications include Selección de poesía inédita (2019) and Aceite de palo (2022), with both poetic works focusing on self-knowledge, healing, and violence from a decolonial Caribbean perspective. Ketsia Ramos es artista transdisciplinaria de Adjuntas, Puerto Rico. Es artista residente en Taller Libertá y fundadore de Editorial Casa Cuna y el festival LA JUNTILLA. Lleva una década exponiendo su trabajo en el Caribe y Sudamérica en un esfuerzo por descentralizar las artes. Sus publicaciones recientes llevan como título Selección de poesía inédita?(2019) y Aceite de palo (2022), ambas obras poéticas enmarcadas en el autorreconocimiento, la sanación y la violencia con una mirada decolonial del Caribe.