*I usually post a supernatural story related to a Puerto Rican myth on Puerto Rican day, but I’m not doing that this time. This is a poem regarding how I feel about being Puerto Rican and what it means to me. This is under my folder titled “My poetry”. Enjoy and Happy Puerto Rican Day!!*
It’s a special day today
Fried rice and plantains
Crowds cheer as the single star flag blazes by
And families all gather to meet at barbecues and picnics
The sun makes my brown skin darker
And I can’t speak a word of Spanish
I live as an American
Burgers and fries and Fourth of July
I know the Pledge and the Anthem like prayers
But no simple sentence of Spanish for me
It’s not like I don’t like being American
I love my friends and my family and everything about this place
I love to exist as the creature I am
Sometimes I wonder if I could be more
Learn more
Do more
I wish I could have understood my Great-Grandma
Without having my Grandma translate for her
And even if I can’t speak Spanish
I can always learn
I’m still a Puerto Rican
I still belong
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I spoke to my Great-Grandma once before she passed away. I never got to speak to her again and I wish that I would have been able to get to know her more. When I use Spanish in my poems (sometimes, I don’t use Spanish all the time) I use Google translate.
And I’m not just Puerto Rican, although that is a big part of me. I’m mixed and proud to be!! but sometimes I reflect on what that means for me.
Hello!
I really liked your work; it shows how you feel, and makes the reader feel it, too. There are parts where the reader feels happy and festive, as though there too - and there are parts where the reader feels sad, or proud, depending on what you write. I think that this is because you used first person (I) and simple sentences, going to the line after each. I also think that the use of italic was a really good choice; and I also like how you ended it, with the sentences always shorting until the last, and the fact that you didn't use punctuation makes each sentence ring in a different way and expands the last one.
(In conclusion) I really liked it, and thank you so much for sharing your work!!!
Have a nice day/night/afternoon/whatever time it is
What I really like about this poem is that inner beating of an identity. We all feel drawn to our heritage in some way, after all, it is woven in us. I like that you put emphasis on the point that you can learn more about heritage through language. In that way you show that although you are somewhere else, you are still Puerto Rican. I'm really glad that you remember who you really are. I wish you all the best and thank you for sharing this poetry with us.
With kind regards,
Sylvanus Grace
Thx for reading. :>