I remember running barefoot, across forest and desert,
crossing mountains and rivers, swimming in lakes of crystalline water. I
have listened to the sounds of maidens laughing and to the warrior’s blood
curdling screams in battle.
I watched as the first European ships landed upon the ocean
shore, before two mighty cultures clashed under a life giving sun, and
history was changed forevermore.
From Kings and Queens, to servants and slaves, the blood
flowed, not just in the fierceness of battle but also in the passionate embrace
of hate then love, as two mighty cultures became one.
The eagle screamed on high, as smooth obsidian blade met
iron sword in the never ending passionate embrace between life and death. In
Spain, the sound of the guitar echoed a triumphant refrain, and in the court
of the King, Native-American gold was placed upon display.
Yet on a moonlit night two lovers kiss, while in the
darkness a child is born, with mestizo blood, as the mystical tapestry of life flows,
like a mighty river of life upon the entire continent of America.
And in
the jungle of today’s inner cities the jaguar threads the same paths as
before.
A volcano erupts within my soul igniting a swirling fire of
emotions from deep within the temple of my heart, and I dare to ask the
question of just who am I? Then from within the darkness, and in the stillness of the endless silence,
I hear a voice which resembles thunder ring out - La Raza Is My Name!
Written in Honor of Hispanic Heritage Month
Frank S. Copyright 2016 All Rights Reserved
