By Angelina Soto Pavia
11th grade, Woodburn High School, OR
Finalist, Human Rights category
With lines from “‘No Somos Animales de Carga. Somos Gente.’ / ‘We Are Not Pack Animals. We Are People.’" by Julia Knoerr, a Pulitzer Center reporting project
You love our decorations,
papel picado es lo que les agraden, it hangs from the ceiling
but my people would rather hang our protest signs.
No les quiero molestar
pero lo único que pido es agua.
Lo único que pido es que me escuchen
cuando digo
yo no soy tractor – para preparar la tierra para la siembra.
Me duelen los dedos
de piscar fresas, subirme a los árboles
y siempre cortándome con las espinas.
Pero sabes lo que más me arde?
The lack of access to water,
excessive sweating.
When I went to my boss,
He offered me a beer
or a cola, or a redbull.
But never water.
Me desmayo,
mi compañero del trabajo me despertó.
Boss then pays his workers to keep silent.
How many more days until my silence becomes permanent?
What if one day I fall to the ground as I fall from the heat?
What if I join the dirt, the same dirt where my dad fell.
The same dirt that buried my grandma or mi tio.
The same dirt you use to grow your strawberries.
I am thirsty, not just for water but for justice.
Because the people who pick your food,
aren't running on either.
Justice nor water,
our fuel is beer and redbull.
Water me like we water your plants.
No somos animales de carga. Somos gente.
And for those who don't understand me,
here it is in english:
We are not pack animals. We.Are.People.
Angelina Soto Pavia is a rising senior in Woodburn, Oregon.
Read more winning entries from the 2024 Fighting Words Poetry Contest.