I’m from the coast of sun kissed skin due to 100 degree weather

I’m from the smell of freshly made pan dulce from the supermarket and tacos from crowded swapmeets

I’m from parties that always had to have pinatas and DJ’s

I’m from tamales and ponche

I’m from the sound of cumbia and love songs

I’m from lounging on the curb with my primas waiting for the elotero to bring us corn on the cob or raspados

I’m from West Covina, La Puente, and Chino

I’m from a place where drugs are used and people are abused

I’m from encountering a drive-by first hand

I’m from having to constantly move from house to house

But where I’m from doesn’t define who I am or will continue to be

It only defines who I could have been

I want to be in a place where my past doesn’t follow me

A place where I’m completely free of who I was growing up on the coast