I Remember, I Remember

I remember, I remember in Guatemala my family,

They have a hard life.

My father who doesn’t have a job.

My mom sometimes cries because my father doesn’t have a job.

 

I remember, I remember the food in Guatemala is so different.

I make tortillas for my father.

He was happy and my mom too.

I was happy to help my family although I am so young.

 

I remember, I remember my friends in Guatemala;

They were good friends.

Sometimes I go to the mountains with them to play.

One day my aunt invited me to go to the cemetery to watch a gang use cocaine.

 

I remember, I remember my religion in Guatemala.

All my family is Christian.

Every Sunday I go to the church with my family.

 

I remember, I remember the school in Guatemala.

It was different.

All ages are together in the class.

I went to school for three years in Guatemala.

 

I remember, I remember in the desert it was scary because many people died coming to the United States.

Many immigration police were passing in the night.

 

I remember, I remember my first day of school.

My teacher gave me a paper in English.

I couldn’t read it.

I answered the questions in Spanish.

 

I remember, I remember my first day here in the U.S.

I did not like the food.

The food here is so different because I never ate meat or drank soda before.

 

I remember, I remember the first time I saw a black person.

I was looking for clothes in Wal-Mart.

He scared me because I never saw a black person before.

 

I remember, I remember I thought all white people did not know how to cook.

I thought they only ate in restaurants.

This is a poem my adopted daughter wrote her freshman year in high school.   She knew no English and broken Spanish.  Her native language is an Indian dialect called, Akateko. Despite her challenges of language and overcoming a huge amount of suffering she is now studying on a full-scholarship at Gardner-Webb University and I am forever grateful!   Grateful God brought her to me, grateful she works so hard and grateful for those who have come alongside us to be our cheerleaders.