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Reclaiming the Mountain
“¡Mira, Papaya!
Que dulce”
Grandma touches this sweet fruit with her hand
As if she’s tasting it with her tongue
“¿Te gusta papaya?”
“yes, but mangos are my favorite”
“Oh sí, mango”
“¡Ai mira guanábana!”
she runs to this tree as giddy as a child
“you see how prickle they are?”
“¡Gandules!”
“rice and beans have saved our people you know
kept us healthy”
“I know grandma”
Grandma Rosa is like Mother Earth
Showing me the jewels of our isla linda
Her brother’s house rests on the side of a mountain
Facing one of the deepest parts of the ocean
We look over this sea and
She begins to tell me stories of her childhood
“We used to have these trees on our mountain
I used to climb this tree and eat mangos all day long
Oh that tree
Yo amé ese árbol
I remember some days I would beat up
my little brother so bad and then I would run
to my tree and hide till it got dark
La montaña
I was so strong I used to ride horses all over the mountain”
Her eyes became glossy and wet
I sensed a tremor in her voice
“Taína, I wanted to show you my home
where my family was raised”
“I would love to see it Grandma”
“no but I went and its gone
they took down the whole mountain
to build mcdonalds and kentucky fried chicken
I didn’t think they could do it but
They took the whole mountain”
Her eyes follow the horizon
and close
I stand here now Grandma
And I remember your trip and these stories
Because they have been pressed into my heart
For eternity
I will continue to remember and tell these stories
Even after the yanquis have tore down
The last mountain of Puerto Rico
I will speak of the beauty that once lived
In the fruit, the beans, the chickens, the coquís,
the soft breeze and the people
Even after the island has been completely
saturated with the filth of
hotels and resorts
Cars and cement
Fast food restaurants galore
Event after Vieques is no more
No te preocupes abuela
I will become your new mountain
Yo seré tu montana
I will not move
Me pararé solida y fuerte
I will resist
They cannot cut me down
I will be the fertile rich soil that will
grow luscious trees
And you better believe that I will
Bear fruit
These trees will grow
Touching branches like hands
Touching palms
We will be united
Rocking and swaying in the tropical breezes and we
will open ourselves to the sun and let
its awesome power fill us
We will whisper Spanish in the breeze and with
these words we will blow away
all corporate terrors
your house will stand strong inside me
inside me your tree will be
safe for children to climb
we will not forget
I will not let us forget
She used to climb her tree to hide!
She used to sit on it and eat mangos!
She rode horsed on the mountains!
She sang songs on the hills!
We will not forget!
No nos olvidaremos
Venceremos!
Venceremos!
Venceremos!
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