"A" is for Abuelitos left back in Mexico who are
Heartbreaking knowing the moment,
they see their children leave home
to cross a dessert they might ever cross.
Heartbreaking knowing once they do arrive al Norte
decades might pass without seeing eachother.
Heartbreaking knowing that they might not get to know
their nietos because their salud esta muy delicada
Heartbreaking knowing that their would be a chance
of someone dying in either side
and wont be able to say the last goodbye.

"A" is for Abuelitos left back in Mexico who
I have never got the chance to meet.
Abuelitos who I loved since the day
I saw pictures junto a mis padres
Abuelitos who I share sangre y caracter and face feautures.
Habra un dia donde nos reuniemos como la familia que somos.
Pero hoy escribo un poema en sus memoria.
Tambien para los abuelitos que me siguen esperando,
Los quiero mucho y sean fuertes

In memory of Memorio Covarrubias y Cecilia Martinez.

Poema Code Switching
By Aylin Soto-Aleman, Mercedes Caballero, Jesus Martinez, Marta Silva, Alex Alejandre
16.4.15

El final de una etapa
The end,
The beginning of a new journey
un camino
A un mundo extranjero
Un deseo, un sueño
A dream
Haciendo mi propio path
un camino
rostros nuevos , new failures
historias nuevas , new experiences
a sequel to my story, con hojas rotas
y mojadas    


INMIGRACION

La memoria es un salto
entre continentes
crossing invisible borders
swimming in the rios
corriendo debajo del sol

La memoria es los abuelitos
ancestors cooking arroz y frijoles,
flan, driving through for hamburgers,
popcorn, sipping on horchata
Basilica
No todo lo que brilla es oro
not all rainbows and butterflies,
Clarita y sus cien años
Ruben y sus Tacos del Camino Real
El rancho
Midnight movies
Quiero a quien me quiera
It’s been a long day, without you my friend
Mexicanos al grito de guerra
Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light
Tepechitlan, Jerecuaro, Guanajuato
Long Beach, Argentine, KCK,
Chihuahua,
A Distance Between Us
El puente, the bridge.
Three Little Pigs en casa, at home,
don't step out marranitos,
la llorona te va a llevar

Memory is a leap
between continents
Cruzando fronteras invisibles,
Nadando en los rivers
Running under the sun

Born in different places
Pero las mismas intenciones

Dejé huellas en una pared a la que quizás nunca volveré.
Abuelitos se aseguraron de dejarme cada palabra necesaria para sobrevivir sin ellos.
Al principio no procesé que cada abrazo y regalo era un presagio del futuro.
¿Como podría olvidarlo?
Adormeciendo su existencia durante años;
caminando por un camino que estaba lejos del de ellos.
Mientras escribo, uno se detiene y uno continúa.
No sabía que cada palabra era un enigma, de lo contrario habría hecho más preguntas.
Pasos, uno se detiene y uno continúa.
Los dejo ir todos los días para seguir entendiendo los pasos.

October 5th: death of Tecumseh
October 6th: feast of St. Bruno
October 7th: I think she bumps ya
October 8th: Mexicans who know

Halloween is closing in
Platform 9 and 3 quarters
Abuelitos feeling fine
She can cross your borders

I might be Dumbledore
Or Gandalf or Merlin say hey!
Oxford through the Open Door
Twilight yesterday

           Twilight still to pray.
               Twilight Octubre.

I left imprints on a wall I, perhaps, will never return to.
Abuelitos made sure to leave me every single word necessary to survive without them.
At first I didn't process that every hug and gift was a foreshadow of the future.
How could I forget?
Numbing their existence for years;
walking down a road that was far from theirs.
As I write, one stops and one continues.
I didn't know every word was a puzzle otherwise I would have asked more questions.
Steps, one stops and one continues.
I let go of them everyday to continue to understand steps.