This Poem was written by Sandra Maria Esteves. She was born and raised in the South Bronx, NY. She studied art and writing at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. Her books include Bluestone Mockingbird Mamba (Arte Publico) and Yerba Buena: Dibujos y Poemas (Greenfield Review Press). In 1985, Esteves was awarded a poetry fellowship from New York Foundation for the Arts.

                 It Is Raining Today

Each droplets contains a message
Soaks my clothing
The earth is crying
Or is it the sky washing down the clouds?
In the puddles lie reflections
Difficult to see thru oil film staining
Rainbow luminescence
Concentric circles expanding

La lluvia (Which means rain) contains our history
In the space of each ear Cacique valleys and hills
Taino, Arawak, Carib, Ife, Congo, Angola, Mesa
Mandinko, Dahome, Amer, African priests tribes
Of the past
Murdered ancestors
Today, voices in the mist

Where is our History?

What are the names washed down the sewer
In the septic flood?

I pray to the rain
Give me back my rituals
Give back truth
Return the remnants of my identity

Bathe me in self-discovered knowlege
Identify my ancestors who have existed suppressed
Invocate their spirits with power
Recreate the circle of the Ayreto
Reunite the family in a universal joining
A shower and penetrating waterfall
Rekindle the folklore
Candles of wisdom with never ending flames.

Speak to me of rain.