Emergent Bilingual Poetry Translanguaging

Bilingue Emergente
Emerging from the Cocoon
By Maureen Ucles


Soy bilingue
Emergente
Not an emergency
Just me
I am
An emergent
Bilingual

Like the sound of
it
Kinda distinguished
Distinguida
Gave me an excuse
To be
Me
Solamente

All these years
batallando
con uno o otro
en mi mente
Mind games
It's one or the other
Ingles o Espanol
Watch it son
You might
get some
Spanglish
In your orejas
Stop that
This instant
But now?

Hey I am
beyond a disease
I am
Bilingual Emergente
Sounds sort of
elegant
Elegante
sofisticado
Ya know?

Not that dumb
after all
No burros allowed
in my crowd
You get me?
Say yes
Dile si,si, si (can't get the accents on Blogger)
Perdon

Ah!
 just my mind
Readin' off the English
Thinkin' in Spanish
What comes out of my mouth?
I am hungry
tengo hambre hombre!
Now famished!
Ya know?
Just chillin
Toma la suave
'Cause carne asada
Just met some burgers
and papas fritas
Mezclando con orgullo
cause ya gotta know
I am bilingue emergente
Proud to be
Simply
Simplemente
ME!