I am from mixed sources and mixed genes

Mixed families and mixed faces

Mixed values and mixed messages

Mixed histories and mixed futures

Mixed colors and mixed minds

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I am from smile nice and stand tall

“Ignore the stares and hold my hand”

“She-hit-me-so-hard-there’s-a-hand-print-on-my-back!”

“Hi, do you know my step-sister, step-brother, half-sister, step-mother, and step-father?”

I am from…I can’t figure it out either

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I am from empty space where a father should be

Empty walls and empty rooms

Empty hearts and empty promises

Empty arms and empty tears

Empty phone calls and empty seats

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I am from yelling and screaming

Cigarette butts and burnt toast

Chorizo con huevos and tortillas and butter

Candy-bags from Grandpa (that I would have saved had I known it was the last)

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I am from broken families and broken silences

Broken doors and broken hearts

Broken childhood and broken privacy

Broken bottles and broken words

Broken mirrors and broken honor

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I am from hoola-hoops and softballs

Empty prescription bottles and beer cans

Skateboards and soccer balls

Hammer and nails and pogo sticks

I am from any hole small enough to hide in

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I am from my mother and father

My step-father and step-mother

My siblings and cousins

My sports and academics

My history and my future