Touched Back
copyright then & 2010 by Candelaria Silva
Brothers,
when I touch you
I’m trying to communicate the feeling.
Black man,
when I touch you
I want to be touched back.
I wrote this short poem when I was 17. In those days, I wrote poetry every day. I would walk into ideas, breathe in images, stir feelings, whip myself into a frenzy over household and political injustices, pine for this boy or the other to notice me, etcetera.
What did I know when I wrote this poem? Nothing much really.
Now I know.
- I know about reaching out to someone – through words, a look, an offering, a smile,
- I know about longing to bridge distance, to thaw the chill, to ignite interest.
- I know about how things slide, are delayed, and tilt.
- I know how easy it is to let go instead of embracing and calling forth.
Touch back. Touch back. Touch.