
Poetry
My México
Pedro Jesús Martínez - State University of New York at Fredonia
Where would I be? If not for the resilient values you instilled in me, That for generations, handcrafted a successful lineage of mothers and fathers. Though they lie about your sovereignty, And pin you as the plague of our continent, They forget who picks the crops that feed their greed. A willing ignorance, of course.
Black Face / Art Or Erasure
Emerson Amaya - Arizona State University
What is art if it requires the erasure of the living
to resurrect the imagined? I think of my brothers, one just old enough to vote, the other about to graduate, my sister still young enough to believe the world listens. If they saw a man paint himself to resemble them would they call it art? Would they recognize themselves in the imitation
Whiskey and Silence
Phillip Hill - University of Arkansas at Little Rock
This one was easier than others to reconcile within myself. An inability to give a shit about certain people was something I could wrap my mind around. This was how we grew our understanding of one another. Him a father that had long sense lost the luster of a hero in my eyes. And me, a son who had become a man, a peer, a trusted friend but wasn’t really a son anymore.
Watching Cherries Bleed
Carly Ermer - University of the Incarnate Word
I’ve admired and imagined, But each scenario turns to an I wish, And reality becomes a blank page awaiting A story to be written;
Never to be.
Chains & Veils
Elizabeth Villareal - University of the Incarnate Word
A mother too young, a girl too small— no time to grow, no room to fall. Bruises on my skin and soul, life demanding I play the role— but I ate the heartbreak, bitter and raw, felt love crack like broken law. Each vow that crumbled, each stare that hollowed.
Left me wondering, is anyone bothered?
The Pomegranate
Jenna Scandale - University of Delaware
Time traded for convenience Durability mistaken for callousness
Blame assigned to the nature of a thing Anyhow the pomegranate stains, Lingers Does not go down softly Even the kiwi, exotic, does not require so much attention.
I’m brown and proud
Jose Ochoa - University of the Incarnate Word
to be Chicano is to succeed and achieve all your dreams at the highest level to do everything con pasión y amor y estar presente en todos los momentos que presente la vida to be chicano es tener amor por la cultura