Lola Rosario

Lola Rosario (aka La Revolution) is a spoken word poet and social justice journalist. She is the author of the chapbook, Daughter de Borikén (Editorial Pulpo, 2024). Her work engages diaspora-displaced identity, the generational trauma caused by colonialism, patriarchy and racism. After a transformational trip to Tanzania in Jan 2021, Lola decided to leave the U.S. She lives in the vibrant coastal town of Loíza, in her ancestral motherland of Borinquen.

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Manifestation

After Jericho Brown

my murdered cousin once came to me in a dream no words were spoken, just his gaze holding mine.

he is exactly as I remember, his magnetic smile holding mine

basketball shorts, the biggest ‘Fro and hanging above, a disco ball.

a 70s backdrop without the music, a spinning disco ball

suspended in the air just like time standing so very still.

I want to say everything I didn’t in life, can I stand still time?

waiting, I hope Freddie wraps his loving arms around me.

tho this doesn’t happen, just his smile wrapped in warmth

as I wonder, ‘what if that night had never happened?’

mami’s screams, dropping the phone - maybe it never happened

though it did and our family would be forever changed.

horrific news from Puerto Rico to NYC, a changed forever family

grieving from across an ocean and at home, mourning eternal

at 23 years young, his breath stifled, eternally silenced

my murdered cousin once came to me in a dream.

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