an origin story

pride
n. a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction
          -          derived from one’s own achievements  /  the achievements of those with whom one is 
                     closely associated  /  from qualities or possessions that are widely admired
 

everyone talks about
black
latino                                                  pride;
native american
taking back our culture  /  heritage  /  terms
 

but what is that pride?
is it how i am too white to be spanish, too spanish to be white?
is it the way empanada dough feels under my hands and nails, seeping into my skin?
 

(pride is one of the seven deadly sins, too
if you ascribe to that ––

i don’t.
but it hangs over my head anyways.)
 

maybe what we’re looking for is:
reclamation        –        rec-la-ma-tion
also n.
the act or process of reclaiming
 

maybe what we’re looking for is:
the pieces of us
scattered across interstates
                       and suburban lawns
                                               and school tiles
buried half in assimilation and half in apathy and half in memory
 

so we can say
this is what it means to be me.