Homelands

what lies behind
the speaking oceans?
what resides between
the words trees have spoken?

what have the hums
of my ancestors awoken?

(homelands
homelands
homelands)

I. THE LAND OF MEXICO

where my people hustle in the streets
from traveler’s dusk to the angel’s night,
making a valiant effort to give their families a better life.
“intentaron enterrarnos. no sabían que éramos semillas.” – a Mexican proverb.

II. THE ISLANDS OF POLYNESIA & AOTEAROA

where my people
relinquish their necessities
in order to provide a vacation to white people
who post the sunkissed tans they get
from the forgiving lips of mother earth.
ho’omau – endure and persevere with diligence.
kaua e mate wheke, mate ururoa – do not die like an octopus, die like a hammerhead shark.

III. TURTLE ISLAND

where my people
are still fighting to be humanized
while simultaneously trying to heal from a lurking evil
named colonization, who has haunted generation
after generation.
“don’t be ashamed to cry.” – words of wisdom from my indigenous grandmother.

the homelands,
sacred heartbeats
of millions –
flatlines on mother earth
(by force or by choice — there’s no difference)

it is now my job
to honor all four, as long as i live.

Looking for more pieces like this? Check these out!

• Rangikura – an Indigenous Book Review
• All the Colors – a Special Issue of MockingOwl Roost
• This Land Which Built Me – Poetry
• Doña Rosita’s Baby – Mythological Fiction

M.S. Blues

+ postsBio

Mia Soto (AKA M.S. Blues) is an 18 year old writer, editor, and advocate from San Jose, California. She's a highly decorated figures in the literary magazine community, having been published over 150 times and serving on multiple staff boards; The Amazine, Adolescence Magazine, The Elysian Chronicles, Hyacinthus Zine, Chromatic Stars Review, Low Hanging Fruit, Sister Time, DICED Online Magazine, The Mixtape Review, The Mirrorball Magazine, My Dearest Aphrodite, Tyche Lit, The Cawnpore Magazine, The Beaulieu Gazette, Sorry! Zine, and Voices of Asylum. She’s also the Founder & Editor-in-Chief of The Infinite Blues Review.

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