De donde soy

Where I'm from

I was born on the restless
and black shores of Montserrat;
an old neighborhood of black people
that gave my steps their same walk.
Over the tenements
I was a little sparrow
sweet and voracious.
I was like every child
for their affection
to any place.
That's how I am, no more to say.
I am free like the wind
and I don't know how to silence my feelings.
I like to walk flying
from end to end through the city.
I look and look twice
because once is not enough to see.
I run through the vacant lots
and open shutters to listen
to the things they tell me
voices that speak
clearly.
That's how I am, no more to say.
I am free like the wind
and I don't know how to silence my feelings.
Together with my friends
I go to the shelter of friendship.
But to my enemies
I do not grant them that freedom.
Sometimes I am a sailboat
and gently sail
through the canal.
And other times I am like thunder,
a furious wheel
of the storm.
That's how I am, no more to say.
I am free like the wind
and I don't know how to silence my feelings.