As the campus community celebrates Black History Month and the contribution of Black culture, art and literature in our society, we take a moment to recognize the talents and contributions of our own students of color. Enjoy Poet Anne Fernandez’s ’22 works entitled “Dominicana” and “Stuck in Between.”
“Dominicana”
In high school I coined the term Afro-Latina
Not knowing what it meant growing up
Thinking it was only for Black Latinos
But Honey these spirals in my hair
My Black Dominican grandmother
That don鈥檛 come from white descendants
Although if you were to ask her if she鈥檚 black
My abuela with eyes and skin as brown as sweet Dominican coffee
Would straight up say, 鈥渃laro que no, esta loca?鈥
See if I鈥檓 being honest
In the Dominican Republic
Passing as white is seen as a privilege
In that way you don鈥檛 have to be mistaken for an Haitiano
The greatest insult before being mistaken for a Puerto Rican
Proud of our culture
But not enough
By Anne Fernandez ’22, College of Visual and Performing Arts
“Stuck in Between”
Everytime I try and explain myself
I can鈥檛
Can鈥檛 because I get stuck between the conjugations
La palabras of mi y t煤
Or is it usted?
I feel like I鈥檓 on a rocky bridge
Constantly trying to balance itself between Spanish and English
A frog leaping from a lily pad of ums to yo no s茅
Yo no s茅 como explicarte que yo estoy pensando
Me toqeo y me frustro cuando no s茅 como decir una palabra
I know this in English but how the hell do I translate it to Spanish?
Odio que no lo puedo hablar suavemente como ustedes
Lo hablo apaso
Cada segundo pensando en como lo voy a decir
I feel like my parents don鈥檛 understand my quirkiness because it鈥檚 rooted in English
A language they have yet to learn
Their tongue in a sword battle with the letter 鈥渆鈥
Everytime they want to say a word that starts with an 鈥渟鈥
鈥淓鈥 school
鈥淓鈥 strawberry
By Anne Fernandez ’22, College of Visual and Performing Arts
