"From a Poem Read at my Great-Grandmother's Funeral"

You came
seeds upon the wind
scattered among the weeds into the laguna clay.

You gave us life.

We took root
in the arid soil of clay
and concrete and railroad tracks.
our limbs grew thick with all you bore.

And now I rise take my place with you,
branches piercing the sky and cry,

"I am Here! I am Here!"

My words roar in the ears of the enemy,
rolling thunder across the floor of the valley.