Aggressive Regionalism: Texts
13. Yvonne Yarbro-Bejarano, "latitude 47°"
Yvonne Yarbro-Bejarano, “latitude 47°,” in Metamórfosis 1:1 (1977): 4
schizoid state of
parched east
and wet west
northernmost point of
raza migration
westside
brown faces slowly
bleach in gray
Seattle drizzles
pale winter suns
sip their color
bit by bit they
grow pale
then burn in
one day’s summer
eastside
tejanos rooted in Yakima soil
bake brown
in endless fields
ties stretching
from valle to valle
strengthened by
sun and earth
west of the mountains
barrio bare
no urban scene feeds rural
roots weakened with
ceaseless washing
Seattle
brown eyes watch your
display of grays and
daydreams head east
and south
Brownsville
San Anto
El Paso
Cristal
Houston
Laredo
Sunnyside
Yvonne Yarbro-Bejarano
May 15, 1976
Seattle
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