Poetry in Public: Places of Landing

Poetry in Public brings communities together through the written word, celebrating local voices by featuring poems written by King County residents in shared spaces.

Our 2023-2025 theme, Places of Landing, embraces the poetry of our daily lives by honoring the movements, places, and feelings that tell the stories of our days. Everyone can be a poet!

Featured Poet

Cristina

Seattle

Featured image for A mis raíces

A mis raíces

En mi lugar de partida estoy yo,
desprendiéndome a cada paso,
diciéndole adiós a mi abuela,
a mi tierra seca y descolorida.
Rompiendo al mundo para darme paso,
con mi risa, mi acento, y mis cabellos.
En un mundo que se dibuja con fronteras;
me escojo siempre ser yo.

To my roots

I stand at my place of departure,
shedding layers with each step I take,
bidding farewell to my grandmother,
to my arid and faded homeland.
Breaking through the world to make my way,
with my laughter, my accent, and my hair.
In a world drawn with borders,
I always choose to be myself.

Original language: Spanish
Translated by: José Luis Montero

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