A Love Letter to My Language

I express myself with my language
written in a journal, spoken out loud,
and in the calmness of my mind.

My first language was Spanish,
a language I learned
from my Mexican mother.
Early in my schooling I was told
I could no longer use my language
I had to assimilate.

My second language was English,
my father’s language.
I hated it.
I put up a fight.
I lost that fight.

English became my primary language.
The Spanish was locked away.
Never gone.
Never completely forgotten.
Always longing.

Drawn to it with the music I listened to - rock en español.
Drawn to it in my studies while at college.
Called to it with my worldwide travels in Spanish speaking countries

Now I reside in Peru.
My language is a mixture
of American English,
Mexican Spanish,
and Peruvian Spanish.

My language tells a story.
As I evolve so does my language.