Siena Garrison, age 14
I wrote this for the WriteGirl Poetry Palooza. I am bilingual – I speak English and Spanish – and I wanted to share a little bit about what being bilingual means to me.
Libre
In this country, we are “free”
In English, you are bound to a name
A background
A life
An identity
A personality
I am a girl
I am white
I am happy
I am perfect
I am fake
I am empty
I am nothing
I am not free
Pero en español,
Soy alguien
Soy libre
Mi sonrisa falsa desaparece
Soy una niña que tiene una voz
Digo lo que creo
Not what I am supposed to say
Mi corazón está en Costa Rica
Not in my European roots
Soy una persona real
I am not a plastic doll
In English, I am bound
Forced to be something I am not
Pero en español, soy libre
In English,
I am nothing more than a lie
En español,
Soy me