Under her wing

abstract

​It is difficult to express how hard it is to adapt to a new place where you do not even know the language. However, regardless of all of this, one must not give up and should demonstrate to themselves how far they can go. Nevertheless, I enjoy creating poetry that depicts how I feel about everything that I have or had to go through.

Josue Rivera

Josue Oswaldo Rivera Abrego was born and raised in El Salvador. He migrated to the U.S. in 2015. He is a student who is majoring in Kinesiology. His poetry is inspired by the different experiences and struggles that he had while trying to adapt to the United States.

"​her spirit is still with them even when her body is not"

Every time they wake up, all they see is grass, dirt, and the heat of the bright sun that hits their little rancho while they wait for the coyote to tell them that it is time to go. The father carries with him a wedding ring for over 10 years. His two sons and the wedding ring are the only memories that she left him before her passing away, he has nothing else in El Salvador, so he decides to migrate to the United States where he hopes to find a new way of living, and an opportunity for his children to become better people than him. The day has come, the coyote plans how everything's going to work, the father is afraid but shows confidence whenever the kids ask him if they're going to be okay. The coyote tells them they're going to have to walk three days and three nights, to get to their destination. The Rivera family is getting ready for their final trip, they have five gallons of water which they distribute between them. When they see the full moon, they start their walk, it is so cold that the water turns to ice, just the three of them helping each other, hoping to not see an animal or a person that can hurt them. At the distance, the father and the kids see a silhouette of a women, they want to take a different route but since they do not want to get lost, they walk towards the women and when they are close enough, they notice that the women looks familiar and when they walk in front of her, they all saw her. It was her, the woman who they all love, it was her, the wife and mother that they all miss. She tells them she is there to help them get through their last journey, and in the morning when the sun is rising, she disappears, but they continue their walk while talking between themselves about what happened. And the next two nights, she was there with them. She helps them with the trip, and when they arrive to the United States they promise that they will never forget how her spirit is still with them even when her body is not