Grade 10
PoetryWritingJasmine J. is sixteen years old. She is half Mexican and half Dominican and she likes to listen to a lot of music and she likes to dance. She is a sophomore in high school and likes drawing and studying photography.
Beginning
It’s not fair that people who I care a lot for
are on the other side of that border I don’t
Show any affection, no emotion sometimes
Because in reality I’m so sad and depressed
Inside, but sometimes I have to suck it up.
Papa
Un hombre who is Loco, who loves his kids
Makes jokes and makes me laugh. A hard
Working dad with two jobs and proud to be
From Mexico and deserves much more.
El Grito de México
A day out of the year that here in the U.S.
in Civic Center, Mexicans celebrate El Grito de
México to remind them of Mexico. There
is food, mariachi so loud that makes
You want to dance. Music colors red
white and green that define the flag
and at eight o’clock exactly everything stops
And All together we yell Que Viva México!
A day to Remember what it feels like to be in
Mexico.
Mama
A mother who loves and cares for her children
Who has a beautiful Dominican accent and wants
The best for her family. She has been through hell
And back, but got through it una mamá con un
Coraźon Grande.
Sancocho
Una sopa hecho en Santo Domingo que es
Sabrosa. This meal makes me feel like I’m in the
Dominican Republic every single time I eat it.
If you have a headache comete un sancocho
If your stomach hurts, eat some sancocho, this
Meal helps you warm up and feel good. It’s the
Best medicine.
Living in Two Worlds
I’m from the United States, but I’m living in two
Worlds: my mother’s culture, my dad’s culture.
And those cultures are a part of me and proud
To be a Latina, I will never be ashamed of who
I am or where my parents came from. Because
Being a Latina I should not have to impress any
White person for them to see that we’re all
Equal. I will never let anyone’s racism be a
Border between me and my future.
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