Child of the Americas by Sarah Rodriguez

Child of the Americas by Sarah Rodriguez https://padlet.com/s_rodriguez/mc0wf4nenilb274v Add ideas and responses to spark our thinking en-us 2020-11-19 20:42:39 UTC 2026-03-18 22:00:55 UTC hello@padlet.com Child of the Americas by Aurora Levins Morales s_rodriguez https://padlet.com/s_rodriguez/mc0wf4nenilb274v/wish/2323192671 I am a child of the Americas,
a light-skinned mestiza of the Caribbean,
a child of many diaspora, born into this continent at a crossroads.
I am a U.S. Puerto Rican Jew,
a product of the ghettos of New York I have never known.
An immigrant and the daughter and granddaughter of immigrants.
I speak English with passion: it’s the tongue of my consciousness,
a flashing knife blade of crystal, my tool, my craft.

I am Caribeña, island grown. Spanish is my flesh,
Ripples from my tongue, lodges in my hips:
the language of garlic and mangoes,
the singing of poetry, the flying gestures of my hands.
I am of Latinoamerica, rooted in the history of my continent:
I speak from that body.

I am not African. Africa is in me, but I cannot return.
I am not taína. Taíno is in me, but there is no way back.
I am not European. Europe lives in me, but I have no home there.

I am new. History made me. My first language was spanglish.
I was born at the crossroads and I am whole.

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