All that Remains

De Mi Pueblo y Yo

Quería saber lo que sabía mi abuela

Why we ran away from our ancestors

Nuestra cultura, nuestra gente

But all she did was nod in my direction

And whispered a soft "esperar"

But I fear I may have waited far too long

Now I'm left lost myself

Aching for answers that do not exist

Ahogándose en un mar sin tierra a la vista

And I don't even understand half the questions I ask

Just whispering softly into the air "dime, por favor"

Not knowing what I want to be told

I just wonder if I want to be comforted by lies

Or if I actually do want to know the truth

Maybe I'm just too scared

"Demasiado" is all the wind will say in response

As it brushes through the pine trees

The answers carried in on a wind too warm for such a rainy place

Apparently it does not know, either

Maybe it forgot what it was responding to as it travelled

Up, up, up the coast just to get to me and so many others

Of whom I do not know, who may be feeling just as lost as me

Forgotten some point in the past

Only to hear the fading memories of our families silence us with an "escuchas"

But the children that have dared to wonder what the gap in their past is

May grow only to realize that a part of them still remains afraid

That they belong neither here nor there, not enough of any one thing

It's hard, trying to be everything that is wanted of you

To somehow be two people

100% one thing and 100% another

Yet we've pushed through, kicking the brush that has grown back

After our ancestors stepped on them to clear the way

Just for a glance at where we came from

But the field that is clear lies only ahead of us

Weeded by those who came before

And the only blind way to walk

But in the middle of the forest, it is important to recognize

The roots we had to climb over to get to this clearing where we are now

Just a small reminder to remember to look back