The following was inspired by the book The Other Latin@: Writing Against a Singular Identity, edited by Blas Falconer and Lorraine M. Lopez.

	who am i 

there are 	
	so many names

	according to them
those people
	who build the labels

write the descriptions
	quick with words
to tell me
	who i am

who am i
	i am from the iberian peninsula

but they tell me
		i’m
too latino

		but
i can’t even 
		speak spanish

		i’m 
too puerto rican
		i’m 
too nuyorican

[don’t forget, i’m also too dominican]
		
no, you’re not
		you’ve never been

who am i
	i am from west africa
	
		i’m too new york
		i’m not a
		new yorker anymore

my english is
		too good
like a gringo

who am i
	i am from indigenous americas
	
i’m too 
		american
i’m not an
		american

i’m too white
i’m too brown
i’m too rich
i’m too poor

i don’t live
	in a ghetto
i live 
        in the wrong place

	i am
	i
	i am
	i
	
        you are not like us

who am i
	i am from celtic & gaelic blood

i am millions
	who came from
	everywhere

whose blood
	flowed from
	everywhere

whose history
	is the history
	of conquerors
	and
	the conquered

whose soul
	is the soul
	of great empires
	and
	great cultures

of memories
	remembered 
	and
	yet to be 
	remembered

who am i
	i am from western mediterranean islands

i am 
	a moment
	through
	time

a wise word
a loving memory
a peaceful strength
a centuries-old story

across continents
	across time
	and
	space

who am i
	i am from jewish blood
	i am from the levant
	i am from the eastern mediterranean
	i am from italy 

i am long lost lives lived
	remembered
	and
	yet to be 
	remembered

i am i

i am.