A collective poem by the Class of 2020

Pioneer Charter School

Inspired by Langston Hughes’ poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”

 

My soul has grown proud of my heritage. -Abraham

I walk along the top of the Great Wall of China. -Francisco A.

I run my hands along the cracked walls of my grandmother’s house. -Erika

I smell the spicy chilies in my mother’s handmade tamales. -Jose O.

I speak Spanish when I am con mi familia. -Tania

I sleep in a bright house full of my loved ones -Francisco C.

My soul has grown full with family. -Armando

 

My soul has grown joyous as I celebrate traditions. -Jasmin U.

I have climbed the Aztec pyramids deep in the jungle of Mexico. -Kelvin

Yo bilo, dance, in the elegant quinceneras in Aguas Calientes. -Cris

I sneak candy from the table at a fiesta. -Alex

My soul has grown rich in Mexican American culture. -Nuvia

 

My soul has grown wise with the stories of my grandparents. -Lluvia

I move across the Nile to watch King Tutankhamun cross the desert. -Carlos

I have known the home where my grandmother lived generation after generation growing up within the same walls. -Alondra

I gaze upon my grandmother’s garden filled with fragrant flowers.-Pamela

My soul has grown stronger with the love of my family. -Yesenia

 

My soul has grown callous with hard labor. -Esteffany

I crawled from the banks of the Rio Grand to stand upon a new land -Uriel

I run in the dark dank catacombs to escape death -Cris

I explore the unmapped dirt roads of my family’s village. -Yaqui

I feel the sting of my grandmother’s hand when I am disrespectful. -Juan

I respect the hard work of my mother and father. -Jaqueline

I walk to the park to play football with the boys from school. -Fabian R.

My soul has grown migratory seeking out new opportunities. -Eduardo

 

My soul has grown fragmented from my parent’s divorce. -Gustavo

I sprint to the theater to find Lincoln dead. -Jasmine R.

I cry in the void left by the World Trade Center. -Francisco A.

I fear the day my parents are deported -Angel

I have walked the halls of an empty house memories reflecting off empty walls. -Phillipp

I bruise with the words that others throw like punches. -Victor

I try to feel happy like the old days. -Brianna

My soul has grown heated with anger. -Jasmine R.

I was serious and furious about myself and though I live, I will never be the same. I feel these emotions driving my soul. -Gustavo

 

My soul has grown lonely with the absence of family, left behind in Mexico. -Suleika

I hear judgments sending me back to Mexico when I’ve never been there before. -Gio

I slip along the Frontera seeking a better life for my family. -Alonso

I witness the challenges teen pregnancy create. -Merli

I watch them get their guns out and shoot at us. -Jenny

I wish for Neverland and the ability to never grow up. -Jocelyn

My soul has grown as empty as the rooms of our old home. -Jorge

 

My soul has grown eternal stretching beyond this time and place in the hearts of my family. -Jocelyn

I run through the coliseum fighting for freedom. -Jasmine R.

I dip my hands in the Colorado river and feel it slip through my fingers. _Pamela

I play on the muddy sand. -Arlin

I touch the White House doors smooth from generations of freedom seekers -Laura

I kneel in the pew of a stone church praying for our success. -Yamilex

I look up at the night sky to listen to the stars tell me stories of my ancestors. -Karnasha

My soul has grown resilient with adversity. -Brandon

 

I have known the Aztec empire. -Fabian G.

I have known the sprawling streets of Denver. -Jose E.

I have known a different world on the other side of the boarder. – Emily

I have known a home filled with love and hope. – Arely

We have known Spanish and English,

We have known discrimination and love

We have known segregation and unity

And we know that we are all human,

We are all family.-Mariah