The Roots of this Tree

"Pero yo ya no soy yo,
ni mi casa es ya mi casa."
   --Federico García Lorca, Romance Sonámbulo

The roots of this tree
are not cut, but have spread
until they now embrace
the world.

The "patria chica" of the dawn years
has overflown the far-flung borders
of the planet.

The mother-tongue is now the maidservant
of more ancient and universal speech,
unhesitatingly declaring
the brotherhood and sisterhood
of all.

But I am no longer myself,
nor my homeland my home,
for all of us have grown.

Past, present, and future
now unite in us,
as hand in hand
we find our way
into the new day.

Text and image © 2019 by Donald C. Traxler