Things We Carry on the Sea

We carry tears in our eyes: good-bye father, good-bye      [mother We carry soil in small bags: may home never fade in our      [hearts We carry carnage of mining, droughts, floods, genocides We carry dust of our families and neighbors incinerated      [in mushroom clouds We carry our islands sinking under the sea We carry our hands, feet, bones, hearts and best minds      [for a new life We carry diplomas: medicine, engineer, nurse,      [education, math, poetry, even if they mean      [nothing to the other shore We carry railroads, plantations, laundromats,      [bodegas, taco trucks, farms, factories, nursing      [homes, hospitals, schools, temples... built on      [our ancestors' backs We carry old homes along the spine, new dreams in our      [chests We carry yesterday, today and tomorrow We're orphans of the wars forced upon us We're refugees of the sea rising from industrial wastes And we carry our mother tongues      [...] As we drift... in our rubber boats... from shore... to shore...      [to shore...