Porque Te Amo:

On a plane I flew to the land of red, white and blue.

Not a word made sense, yet I was only two.

“This is your new life,” my mom would say.

“Y porque te amo, we’re going to stay.”

Waking up at 6 became the routine as I started to grow

Everyone looked different and I learned hard and interesting things I didn’t know.

Some nights I would try and answer these number riddles

But would complain and stop in the middle.

My dad would push me to keep trying

Sleepless nights, with a daze of numbers and stubborn whining.

“You have to try and succeed,” my dad would say.

“Porque te amo, it has to be this way.”

With the constant help of my caring father.

My intelligence started to surpass farther.

At a stubborn age, thirteen,

All my parents seemed to be was “strict” and “mean”.

On a morning where I was crying

Questioning if I was actually trying,

My father came into my room with caring eyes.

He kneeled beside me calming my tearful eyes.

“You have to know you’re wrong now so you don’t mess up later.”

“Porque te amo, look up to the Creator.”

My last years of school, time was a blur

But through all the worries, my parents support for me was sure.

Next thing I knew,

I wore a cap and gown, color royal blue.

We threw our caps high to the limitless sky.

It was finally over with the sound of goodbyes.

My parents embraced me and with an assuring tone and said,

“We’re proud and we’re happy.

But we know that you got here because you’re so much more.

Porque te amamos.”