Esperanza
Her name was Esperanza—
Hope
But did she have any?
Loving a faithless man full of fury and alcohol.
A man who would give her children but take her life.
Her name meant Hope
But did she have a prayer?
Did she cry out, "Dios Mío, ¿por qué me has abandonado?"
as she lay dying at the hands of her husband.
Or had she lost her faith in anything
the first time he hit her?
Her name was Esperanza—
Hope
But could she see la luz
as the darkness swallowed her,
as she was sacrificed to the gods
of anger and betrayal and machismo.
Her name meant Hope
and though she may have lost herself,
she lives on in the strength of her nietas,
and they carry her name on their defiant tongues.
Esperanza, no te dejaremos morir.
Lisa Lerma Weber has been published in Awkward Mermaid, Barren Press, Bone & Ink Press, Memoir Mixtapes, Mojave Heart Review, Royal Rose, and others. Follow her on Twitter @LisaLermaWeber