Puerto Rican Woman

I am a mixed-blooded citizen
of the United States of America,
as was my great-great grandmother,
my great grandmother before me,
my grandmother and my mother.
This is how I know I'm an American.
But you, young man whose
grandparents lived in Europe
long before they went to Ellis Island,
Disagree with my viewpoint, vehemently.

You want me to go back to Mexico
even though I never lived there.
You claim that true Americans
speak English only and that
I should forget my other languages.
So it really doesn't matter that
I read Cervantes and Shakespeare
to pass the my idle time while
you consider Jerry Springer
a wealth of valuable information.
In your mind, the American Way
is the path towards stupidity.

In your mind, I am simpleton because,
I have an accent and people who speak
"good English" don't.
(At least, they think they don't.)
In your eyes, you see me as a hostile
dark-skinned foreigner even though
my blood is as mixed as yours and
my roots here are longer than yours.

So, even if you do mind, I'll
vehemently disagree with your views.
Perhaps you haven't noticed,
but America is a Spanish variant
of an Italian man's name.
The natives of the land
before the Spanish named her
weren't of British blood.

Vanesa is an artist, cartoonist, professional model, and owner of VasLittlecrow.com

Also by Vas Littlecrow