“Geography Lesson” by Frank Varela Of Puerto Ricans, there are two— those born on the island, others like me, 5 the children of exiles. We have one face, but live on two islands: North, New York City burns my lips whenever my tongue 10 cleaves its concrete syllables. South, Puerto Rico part of a larger archipelago sprayed out like granules of salt across the Caribbean. 15 Two people separated by the inconvenience of geography, wishing, sometimes, the other would simply disappear. Question: What is distance? 20 The space between two souls. Question: Of my two islands, which one should I love the best? North or South, answer me— 25 now.