I am from red soap and red skies

I am from limonada con tehuacan

I am from the heart of Mexico city and the outskirts of Izamal

I am from my abuelita y her abuelitas before her

I am from the desert sand and the smell of heat coming off the highway

But I’m in America and my heart no longer knows where to live

Here the red skies are gray and the soap comes in boxes

The cities are loud with words I’ve never heard

And all I know is my mother and my sister and how to keep quiet

But time forces me to choose what home is mine

So soon I forget what shade the skies were

I make my mother buy sprite at the grocery store

Spanish dies on my lips as soon as it’s born

So maybe I’m not from the sugar skulls and marigold petals anymore

I’m not from my grandmothers who I haven’t seen in years

Now I am from the red bricks of my new house

I am from the flag that waves proudly outside of my new school

I am from the food on our table that my mother is able to put down

Only because she could get a job here

My heart is no longer in Mexico

Because it has to be here with me

It has to be