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Gringa, by Julia Stahl
Winning Poem from Poetry for the Mind's Joy, The Poetry and Literature Center at the Library of Congress
Back to list of winning poems
This poem was submitted for the "Poetry for the Mind's Joy" project and is reproduced here with permission from the author. All rights reserved. Poetry for the Mind's Joy is Poet Laureate Kay Ryan's project that includes a community college poetry contest administered by the Community College Humanities Association and a lively videoconference.
Abuelito and Abuelita play hopscotch with the words
Lime and chili words, blood, sun, and dirt words
They brought across the desert to los estados unidos
The pale land, without gods
They brought the words to California
Before faces as dark as molasses filled the streets
Mexico hid under the bed in a suitcase
But the words wouldn’t die
La lengua lived on
Secret, and blossoming
Behind the walls
My tongue is bleached
Soy gringa
Sin historia, sin cultura, sin, um, identity
No hablo very good
Where are my roots?
My skin is white and my words are white
Though Mexico thrums in my veins
Pero,
Si no tienes la lengua, no existes
Las Positas College, Livermore, CA
Faculty Contact:
Toby Bielawski, English Department
