Call It Serenity
Miami, FL
2020, Senior, Poetry & Spoken Word
When abuela was a baby,
There was a hotel by el malecón.
When mami was a baby,
The hotel closed after the hurricane.
When I was a baby,
The hotel became a factory.
When my daughter is a baby,
The factory will have fallen into the sea.
Because abuela didn’t know,
And mami didn’t know,
And I didn’t care,
And she couldn’t do anything about it.
So, as we allow the ocean to slowly consume us
Abuela watches another novella,
Mami watches another hurricane,
I get back from working the factory,
And my daughter will never see el malecón.
She won’t know serenity.
Because I didn’t.
Because Mami didn’t.
But abuela somehow did.
Blindness.
Call it Serenity.
Reflection
Reflection
I was inspired by my marine science class, where we talked about how generations get different perspectives of the ocean. I realized that there is going to be a new story to the seas as generations pass by, from older generations blindly enjoying it and taking it for granted, to the eventual future where the ocean is feared as it rises due to climate change. My creative process was simple: write what I know. I wrote about this generational shift, which I have witnessed firsthand by way of my own mother and grandmother. I'll take this knowledge with me and apply it to prevent the desolate future that I had described by educating those around me about the importance of our waters and the role they play in our everyday life.