POETRY | ANCESTRAL HERITAGE
What Abuela Left Behind
They will always be a part of me.
She kept a small clay jar in her kitchen
adorned with petroglyphs —
Indigenous Taino symbols: the sun and Atabey,
Goddess of Fertility
I can’t remember how many times I asked
if I could one day keep it
as a memory of her and of our ancestors
But I do remember her every response
a soft smile framing her wrinkled face
the most beautiful brown skin I’ve ever known
“Claro que sí, un día”
I knew abuela meant it because I was her favorite
and also because I was the only grandchild
interested in learning about our First Peoples,
the Taino and Igneri
The last time she spoke those words to me
was eighteen years ago
I have long stopped being that shy little girl
helping her in the kitchen
Still, I hear her words echo in my mind
“Yes, of course, one day”
Jajom for reading.
Acknowledging the Arawak, the First Peoples of Borikén, on whose unceded lands my work is created. In gratitude for and in honor of our wondrous Indigenous Taino, Igneri, and African roots.
