Soy de aquí
y soy de allá
from here
and from there
born in L.A.
del otro lado
y de éste
crecí en L.A.
y en Ensenada
my mouth
still tastes
of naranjas
con chile
soy del sur
y del norte
crecí zurda
y norteada
cruzando fron-
teras crossing
San Andreas
tartamuda
y mareada
where you from?
soy de aquí
y soy de allá
I didn’t build
this border
that halts me
the word fron-
tera splits
on my tongue
Glossary
|
WORD
|
DEFINITION
|
POSSIBLE SYNONYMS
|
|---|---|---|
| allá (adv.) | in that distant place | there, over there, afar, beyond |
| aquí (adv.) | in this place | here |
| con (prep.) | accompanied by | with |
| crecí (v.) | from the verb crecer, meaning “to grow up” | I grew up, I was raised, I was nurtured |
| cruzando (v.) | from the verb cruzar, meaning “making a passage from one place to another” | crossing, passing |
| de, del (prep.) | indicates a connection between something or someone | of, from, by |
| en (prep.) | indicates location | in |
| éste (adj.) | referring to something previously mentioned | this |
| frontera (n.) | line dividing two areas | border, boundary, frontier |
| lado (n.) | a position to the left or right of an object or barrier | side |
| mareado/a (adj.) | unsteady and giddy | dizzy, faint |
| naranjas (n.) | citrus fruits | oranges |
| norte (n.) | one of the directions a compass needle normally points | north |
| norteado/a (adj.) | loose bearings | disoriented, unsettled, bewildered, lost |
| otro (adj.) | different, remaining | other, another |
| soy (v.) | from the verb ser, meaning “to be” | I am |
| sur (n.) | one of the cardinal directions; opposite of north | south |
| tartamudo/a (adj.) | speaking with a stutter | stuttering, stammering |
| y (conj.) | used to connect words; something additional | and, as well as, in addition to |
| zurdo/a (adj.) | preferring to use the left hand | left-handed, southpaw, lefty, out of step, contradicted, mixed-up |
Background
About Free Verse
Free verse is a literary device that can be defined as poetry that is free from
limitations of regular meter or rhythm and does not rhyme with fixed forms. Such
poems are without rhythms and rhyme schemes; do not follow regular rhyme
scheme rules and still provide artistic expression. In this way, the poet can give his
own shape to a poem how he/she desires. However, it still allows poets to use
alliteration, rhyme, cadences or rhythms to get the effects that they consider are
suitable for the piece.
Bio
Gina Valdés is an iconic figure in Chicano literature and a life-long activist for Chicano and immigration human rights. She was born in Los Angeles, California, and grew up on both sides of the U.S.-Mexican border. Throughout her writing career (through both poetry and prose) Valdés has focused on building understanding about the complexities and the riches of living life in two languages and two cultures.