Lidia Enriquez, age 16

California

I wrote this after a week when I realized just how much my mom does. Somehow I had been oblivious to everything she does, but that week I realized she was not superhuman. It was very shocking – I had this image of my mother as this unstoppable force to be reckoned with, which is still true. But she is also a person who has a life and needs help too. Speaking in Spanish helps me feel connected to my culture and to my mom.

Madre mía

Mother, mi mamá
Her warmth, her hugs
We still crave her touch
She brings us back to childhood memories:
Messy tamales and front-seat car rides
She’s our Wonder Woman
But our little lady who still needs help
We forget, she’s growing up too

Mi amor por ella es tan grande
Más grande than the trailer trucks she drives
Alone in the night sky
Me encanta hablar en español
Aunque no sea tan bueno
Porque it reminds me of mi abuelo
Y mi mamá
She laughs when I purposely screw it up
Pero estoy enamorada del idioma
I love learning new words through her stories

They remind her of her past
But sometimes I think she forgets
How much I love her
I learn her mother tongue to remind her