Legal Alien

**I had originally added this to my MySpace page, but I thought I should add it here as well.**

This reminds me so much of me and every other Mexican-American I come across on day to day basis, at school and everywhere else...(of course, those of us that are bi-lingual)

Legal Alien

Pat Mora

Bi-lingual, Bi-cultural,
able to slip from "How's life?"
to "Me'stan volviendo loca,"
able to sit in a paneled office
drafting memos in smooth English,
able to order in fluent Spanish
at a Mexican restaurant,
American but hyphenated,
viewed by Anglos as perhaps exotic,
perhaps inferior, definitely different,
viewed by Mexicans as alien
(their eyes say, "You may speak
Spanish but you're not like me"),
an American to Mexicans
a Mexican to Americans
a handy token
sliding back and forth
between the fringes of both worlds
by smiling
by masking the discomfort
of being pre-judged
Bi-laterally.




Pat Mora, a leading figure in contemporary Hispanic poetry, was born on January 19, 1942 in El Paso, Texas. She received a BA from Texas Western College in 1963 and an MA from the University of Texas, El Paso in 1967. In addition to writing poetry, nonfiction, and children's books, Mora has taught at the University of New Mexico where she held the position of Distinguished Visiting Professor. She has also worked as a museum director and as a consultant on U.S.-Mexico youth exchanges. Her recent books include My Own True Name: New and Selected Poems for Young Adults, 1984-1999 (Arte Publico Press, 2000), Aunt Carmen's Book of Practical Saints (1997), and Agua Santa: Holy Water (1995). Her numerous awards and fellowships include the Kellogg National Leadership Fellowship, fellowships in poetry from the National Endowment for the Arts, four Southwest Book awards and the Premio Aztlán Literature Award. In addition to her books of poetry, Mora is the author of numerous children's books, including A Birthday Basket for Tia (1992) and a memoir. She resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Cincinnati, Ohio.