I’m white you say
And so it’s true
I’m white
You can see me,
I don't look like you.
I may look white
But my soul it’s true
Feels the things
Mi gente
Feels and other things too
La migra is coming!
La migra is here!
Words I have known
Since before they became clear
The music, the vibes,
La chancla wielded in the air,
They aren't a novelty to me
They are real.
Push my face into the
Birthday cake and I will surely
Cry.
My mom is white enough to not
Stand by
And allow you to ruin my new dress.
It isn't super fancy
But it is mine
And she won't let you make that mess.
Mis primos
Think it’s funny
How I am slathered
With cream by the pool.
I must be fragile or
Weak
Or something less cool.
My shiny pale skin shines in
My own eyes.
No one will let me forget
Being white isn't their
Disguise.
I feel like an imposter
Yet la cultura
Runs in my veins too.
You don’t like me because
I am not like you.
Yet my home cooked meals are
Familiar
And spicy.
The way my hips can move,
Energy and excitement
Are similar to yours
Pero mi gente dice
Que no puedo
Que no soy.
Yet I am here.
Latinidad.
Hablas?
Maybe I say things funny
When I am speaking, or miss a word
Pero yo not te burlo when it’s your turn.
I roll my r’s Rrrrrrrrr
My mom made sure of that.
My apellido has to be said,
Down pat.
“You are Mexican and have to say it right.”
There is no excuse, she says as I
Hold on tight
To her hand,
I hang on her words too
Tengo que hablar en español
Como tú
Pero,
Mom, you are speaking English even
Now.
Your mothering tongue is yours
And so it is mine now.
Can’t I just be me?
A little bit of all those things?
Can’t I love what I love and
Be what I can be?
As I arrive at La Fiesta
Their eyes follow me.
It isn't safe, they say.
“Te van a robar.”
If I am not enough
Por que me siguen?
If I am Familia?
Why do you avert your gaze?
Let us just embrace
The life we have.
We all are a little bit of this and that.
Migration.
Transformation.
Culture.
History.
Let us hold tight to the things that
Make us “Me.”
Time goes by fast
And inheritance gets lost.
Practice it. Teach it. Invite me in.
Porque todos somos diferente
Pero
It is who we are.
We evolve.
We grow.
But we should keep our cultura
It makes the world more beautiful.
And forget what they say.
Whether you are black, white
Moreno or grey.
We are the human Race.
Tenemos que querer
Si nosotros son los que pueden
Perder.