How does where you are from define who you be? Nuyorican poet Willie Perdomo presents his own perspective in the poem Where I’m From, published in his book Where a Nickle Costs a Dime.

Where I’m From
by Willie Perdomo

Where I’m From, Puerto Rico stays on our minds when the fresh
breeze of cafe con leche y pan con mantequilla comes through our
half-open windows and under our doors while the sun starts to rise…

Where I’m from, the police come into your house without
knocking, They throw us off rooftops and say we slipped. They shoot
my father and say he was crazy. They put a bullet in my head and say
they found me that way…

Where I’m from, it’s sweet like my grandmother reciting a quick
prayer over a pot of hot rice and beans. Where I’m from, it’s pretty
like my niece stopping me in the middle of the street and telling me
to notice all the starts in the sky.