I am From

by Priscilla Preciado

They came from the sun
I came from the moon
Polar opposites, yet embracing one another
In the city that remains home
Mom and pop shops became starbucks
Walmarts became shopping malls
And in time my mother’s childhood faded
Both parents lost
The ground was swept beneath her at 18
And once again at 29
And yet she is still the most resilient woman I’ve ever known
I came from the sun
And she became my moon
Beautiful in her solemn strength
Which illuminates the past she overcame
Yet when the moon eclipses
I am reminded of how those events have cast a shadow over her joy
In crumbled photos stashed away in drawers
I see the inner child of my mother, marks of her childhood
I find mine in my father’s laugh
I come from diligence
I come from loyalty
I come from compassion
But most of all I come from the woman who has embraced me with strength since I took my first breath

Priscilla Preciado is currently a student at Irvine Valley College studying communications, hoping to become a journalist. She wrote this as an assignment in my Puente writing class. Her task was to answer another poet’s poem with her own take on where she comes from. She wrote the piece on her mother’s family who were Indonesian immigrants. She is also currently writing their story as part of a research essay.