Un poema para mis estudiantes
You’ve grown up in poverty
But I’ll never call you El Pobre
The American Dream isn’t for you
Because you’re wise enough to want something more
Each of you is guatemalteco
Each of you is American
And I’ve watched as you figure out
What the hell that means
I’ve been there alongside you,
As you search tirelessly for identity
Ever-eluding but not entirely out of reach
What you are is an incredible generation
And you have a chance to bring forth
The best of both cultures,
Learning from our mistakes and ignorance
And dragging us along as you change the world
Into a
place sin los muros
Sadly, I’m leaving you for a while
I will miss being in your life
And hearing you laugh obnoxiously
When I speak bits of Spanish
Como el tonto
gringo que soy
But our relationship fuels my passion
To learn what I believe is without doubt
The fastest spoken language to date
And I will use that passion
When I am tearing my hair out
Porque no
entiendo a los chilenos
And remembering our relationship will push me
To keep speaking broken Spanish
Trying again and again until I can speak
The language that means so much
To us both...
This is absolutely beautiful.
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