Meet Francis Madi Cerrada
Francis Madi Cerrada is a queer writer, playwright, poet, community organizer and policy analyst from Caracas, Venezuela who currently resides in New York City. Her work explores the intersectional dynamics that migration, intergenerational movement, queerness, family, love and relationships, and such issues at play in a person’s life.
A Poem by Francis Madi Cerrada
Doñas
There is a privilege to eating and enjoying a donut that I envy in the people around me.
In the streets of New York, this is a common urban sweet treat, and one which I’ve also indulged in.
But donuts also make me think of my mother and how she doesn’t enjoy them.
There was a time in my childhood when she cooked and sold donuts to make ends meet for us.
She made them so many times she grew to dislike them.
I remember them looking big and plumpy
decorated with chocolate or strawberry frosting,
and colorful sprinkles on top.
I remember the smell of sugar mixing with oil.
I remember eating the ones that didn’t turn out nice.
I wish my mom could enjoy a donut the way we all do, with pleasure. I wish I could eat it without thinking of her sacrifices.