MEE NO INGLICH, ESPAÑOL PLEES
by Teresita Perez
I got off the plane when I was eleven,
didn't speak English, New York so cold.
Listened in vain to 6th grade teacher
not ever knowing what I was told.
Jose Guzman, the tallest boy,
to assembly each Friday, proudly and high,
the country's flag he always carried.
His eyes were green. The girls would sigh.
I learned the sounds of anthem's lyrics,
soon uttered its words without a flaw.
"Jose, can joo si?" my song resounded.
But other voices drowned my cause.
Handsome boy sick and he is absent?
Who will carry the flag today?
"Peter, can joo si?" I sang perplexed,
for all kept honoring Jose.
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