Freedom is a hummingbird
dancing to the wind
with its wings flapping rapidly

Freedom is black eyes searching
chasing the sweet smell
of roses in the air.

Ode to My Parents

BY JOANNA

Sweet yellow corn
Was planted by my parents.
And when time came, picked out
taken to the family kitchen
and turned into plain delicious circle shaped tortillas
Eaten by my parents with queso y chile
would keep them full
for a better day.

Sweet yellow corn
The fields where my parents worked day and night
till the bright burning sunsets.
After school straight to the fields they go
with the mindset that working hard everyday will someday pay off.
They want a life with better education and jobs like the people who live in the U.S.
who have a better life.

Sweet yellow corn,
the fields where my parents were born.
It was their other home.
The place they spent most of their lifetime
making their daughter proud
of such hard work.
They contributed to their family.
Now they deserve to rest, enjoying their days and lives.

ForWords Literacy Lab works in partnership with the Banyan Integrated Studies Program at San Rafael High School. ForWords Teacher Consultants coached Banyan students in their writing of historical fiction stories based on research about their home countries. The students read Isobel Allende's House of Spirits and then wrote their own stories which resulted in the ForWords supported publication of an anthology of these stories entitled, "Mi Familia."

“When I Came to the United States”

BY ENRIQUE

“When I came to United States, I felt that this country was more different than mine. In my country I had my friends and here I didn’t know if people were good or bad. I was afraid because I didn’t understand when they spoke to me. I didn’t have any idea what they said. Sometimes I thought I wouldn’t be able to learn to speak English because I didn’t understand what I was learning…In the United States I started to learn to speak English. Learning English is the most important, but difficult. English has words that have two meanings and it is hard to memorize them. I also forget certain words and sometimes confuse their meanings. I discovered a good way to learn English very fast. I found that reading books, listening to English music and overhearing conversations in English helped me learn the language faster. As a result, I passed onto a high level of English in half a year.

‘We need to study because studying is the most important thing in order to find a good work. These words were said by my brother and I learned many things with him. He is the person who also taught me how to drive. He was telling something about his life and that if we have a dream, we need to follow it. Because to have a dream is knowing what you want later in life.

I questioned, ‘Why do I study?’ This question I had in mind but when I was texting with my brother I changed my mind. He told me that you need to study because you need to find your dream. I thought that I needed to be different and every day I still try to do something new. I learned something with my brother. He taught something that I would never forget. He taught me to do something new everyday and to not try to be like any other person because each person is unique and each person has different ideas.”