I am... and I will make it count
I am sunlight streaming through the window above my bed
I am stardust from the beginning of the universe
I am moonbeams in the darkest of nights
I am a collection of miracles and pretty things
I am the daughter of Aztecs, Moors, and Spaniards
I am desperate to know who they were and what they felt
I am in dire need to tie myself to them, to anchor myself in their certainty
I hunger for a home I have not known, a family long dead
I am a collection of genetic code from people who transcended it
I am every episode of my grandfather’s PTSD and every beating my grandmother endured
I am my parents’ struggle to make it in the world, to survive and to live
I am my great-grandmother, sleeping in the tortilla factory where she worked to make ends meet
I am a collection of sacrifices and endurance
I am young and new to this world, and I always will be
I am fearful of every word, knowing that I am stronger than I seem
I am reckless, vengeful, and downright childish
I am a collection of unbridled passion
I am protective of the family I have found
I am the blood of our covenant, thicker than the water of the wombs we came from
I am gifted unconditional care and thankful for it
I am a collection of their strength and their love
I am sand, slipping through my own fingers
I am outspoken and scared and strong
I am solid as diamonds and just as sharp
I am quiet and confident and weak
I am everything in a recipe I do not the details of
But I know the world will only ever have this one
And I will make it count