I am from  my Jake plush from Adventure Time, 

from Coca-Cola and Play Station.

I am from the sweet smell of fresh mangos and oranges growing in my old home backyard.

I am from the large Oak trees and lines of Papaya plants, 

the three roses that even during wilt still shine their beauty.

I am from the yearly mass gatherings of my 100+ family members disobeying every line of COVID guidelines.

and crazy, energetic aunts, 

from Hillary

and Fabio and Martha. 

I am from the utter oblivious acts of purchasing more and more lemons

and constantly asking whether we were hungry even though we persisted with a “no”.

From the Chupacabra 

And Santa Clause.

I am from the heart of catholicism. 

The prayers of every mother, daughter, father, and priest can be heard from every corner of the providence.

I’m from San Juan de La Maguana, 

From Rice and Beans and Mangu.

From the time my mother and father got married and moved to two countries to have their children, 

the winner of a European Beauty Pageant and the foreman to a construction conglomerate, 

and the long dead-end street, my grandmother owned. 

I am from the picture of me as a child, being the first picture that my parents had the honor of taking on American soil. The endless album of my sister constantly touching my mother’s belly which carried me, the sd card that contains every nook and cranny that my family explored from the Dominican Republic.