I am Boricua
I have the blood of the world in my veins, Taíno and Spaniards and Africans alike
My palms are white but my heart is golden
And I was one of the lucky ones
I was born in America, given two sides of a coin
Flipping between my culture and my country
I know what privilege looks like, and it stares me down in my faded accent
It shatters when it's shoved down my throat because this is America, speak American
But replacing culture with country wasn't enough for you
And the weather had other plans too
Disaster turned our sweet drinks into bitter goodbyes
Forcing us to leave the only home we knew
The hurricane winds stripped our lives away and you gave us reminders of our debt instead of aid
You threaten to make us pay for the money you took from us and give us excuses to chew on
Because rather of keeping us alive, you keep us at a distance
You think we are at your every beck and call because we have lost so much and we are losing so much more
But we are stronger than Maria
And we will persevere like we've always done
Because where we are from is not just an island
We are a singularity that is not afraid to stand up for what we believe in
So believe me when I say the hurricane is not what you should be afraid of
We are an island
We are a people
And we are a force to be reckoned with
