"Poem For Diane" (Celebrating Diane di Prima's Inauguration as Poet Laureate of San Francisco)

POEM FOR DIANE

"When spoken (poetry) cuts a shape in time"
~ Diane di Prima


La Loba, you taught me well,
how to survive the hell
of an intelligent woman.
Taught me to spell
my way to her-story, taught
me the world was a word
with out El_Otro, Loba,
you taught me to cherish
my whiskers, my attuned ears,
my long smokey looks when
La Loba just wants to play.
You taught me the mouse
is more than she has at hand,
that many mouths can save an other.
How to howl, Loba, you let me
howl, with your tiny hands
and your enormous heart,
with your no-bullshit vocabulary
and your steel-snap mind,
with your pacing, your waiting,
your ever cool, oh so cool way
of loving, La Lobita, you taught
me by being you. You taught
me the world was more than words
and your word, all.


Lorna Dee Cervantes
02/19/10


(on the occasion of Mission Latina/o poets honoring Diane di Prima's inauguration as Poet Laureate of San Francisco)