I Am

I am

a first born     first generation
American      Mexican

My name derives from
my father’s mother
María Magdalena     and
my mother’s mother
Carmen

My mother wanted
              Mayan moon goddess
Itzel
              or Hebrew princess
Sarah
names with roots other than our own

No one in my family
calls me by my first name
María
            a Latin
                       Hebrew name for
sea of bitterness, rebellion

My family
only calls me by my middle name
Carmen
            a Spanish
                           Latin name for
garden ode

I am a prayer
filled with hopes
other than my own