My Beauty y Mi Tierra

I stand before you
And I wonder what you see.
Do you see my deep, brown, almond-shaped eyes;
My full lips and long, dark hair;
Skin the color of brown sugar;
My hips made for the salsa and plena music of my land;
Hands that can make expert tortillas and play congas?
Do you see the mountains and sunsets of my land,
Or my beautiful flag, glorious in its wave?
Do you hear the song of my coqui, as it sings my people to sleep?
Do you lose yourself in the clear waters and white sand of my beaches?
Or smell the guayaba and mango trees after an afternoon rain?
Listen closely inside of me,
Hear my ancestors humming boleros
With their Indian eyes and smooth black hair,
As they dance unknowingly to the song of the wind.
These are the wonders of my land and of my people,
The things that make me who I am--
My beauty, y mi tierra.