NUESTRAS VOCES
THE PUENTE PROJECT
GAVILAN COLLEGE

Where I’m From

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I am from textbooks,

From albums and rhinestone art

I am from the welcoming porch up front

Purple, chipping, rough wood

I am from the crystal rain

That nourishes our land and serves as a surprisingly good dance floor

I’m from setting the altar in November and coarse hair 

From Raquel and Jose Luis

I’m from the poking fun at random times and blessing each other on the way out

From “Speak louder!” and “You’re so serious”

I’m from the hands of God, 

who decides where I go and when I will make it 

I’m from the Land of the Free carrying Raquel and Jose’s Mexican roots,

pan dulce y tacos gobernadores 

From the bullet that took my grandfather 

The long scar of my mother

In the back room, a dusty box holds faces known and unknown, 

keeping vivid accounts of fractions in time that we could relive simply by looking