Where are your stories?

“¿Dònde Estàn Tus Cuentos?”
(Where Are Your Stories?)
by Janelle Meraz Hooper

I heard stories on my grandmother’s knee
Stories of coming to a new country,
Stories of courage, living, and strife.
I listened to stories at my mother’s feet
Stories of leaving home
Stories of lust and men and being a wife.
I listened to stories by my father’s bed
Stories of growing up in Texas
Stories of homesteads, ranches, and war.
I listened to stories in my neighbor’s swing
Stories of childhood and getting by
Stories of success and failure, and more.
I listened to stories from an old man
Stories of the West, and Indians
Stories of cowboys, and skies of blue.
I listened to them all and remember all
Stories that fill my head and
Now I share them with you.
“Dònde estàn tus cuentos?”
Share them with me and I will listen
Until the stars come out—