First Prize:
Doll Skin by Monika, Panama/USA, Age 17

Dear Josephina,

I owe you an apology
many years in the making
I am sorry that you were always
last in line
That when my mother said
you look so much alike
I would scowl
I am sorry that I
loved Summer over you
that her blond hair
and green eyes
made me smile like
I never smiled at you
I am sorry that when my grandmother
made matching dresses
I never gave you one
that your thick dark hair
never was braided
never was brushed
I am sorry I pronounced your name
with a stiff and angry
J
Josephina
I knew it was wrong
but most of all
I am so sorry
that I hated my
own skin
and that you
had to
live in it

Second Prize:
Mother's Burden by J. Javier, El Salvador/USA Age 17

Heavy snoring at night after a long day's work,
you soldier on through the quagmires of life.
Cries of children all day, teenage tantrums at night,
you swim your deep dark oceans,
force painful new strokes into the water,
no man to appreciate your agony,
burden of your beauty.

Arthritic legs from weeks of caring for strange babies,
yet you run through sword sharp fields of elephant grass, unharmed.
Dirty-diapered mornings, dirty-dished nights,
yet you carry our family on your embracing wings,
flying through green-back storms,
no man to understand your struggle,
a selfless burden.

Puffy, red eyes after years of working every day of the week,
yet you guide my hands to the lighted door in life's dark caves.
steps missed at sunrise; sunset meals unprepared,
yet you gallantly dance through burning forests,
avoiding the rain walking in the fire,
no man to respect your virtue,
a mother's burden, your life.

J. Javier on Life Between Cultures: The hardest thing about balancing two cultures is the constant lure of the american culture with their different views -- mainly liberal specially in the place that I live-- as suposed to a more conservative look of life that comes from being raised in catholic and protestant churches. But as my parents shifted their reliance of being religious and attending church at least three times a week, it became easier for me to assimilate to a new liberal culture. Now I still focus on keeping my Salvadorian heritage by learning and researching what I would have learned had I stayed in my homeland to study. I love history and world cultures to the point that I wear different bracelets on both arms, some Buddhists
made in India, others made of coconut from Africa, Salvadorian ones, and an American leather watch. It was harder before I was given freedom by my own parents to search for my place in this world and now I believe I've found it. I know where I come from and what my culture has given me and the world making it easier for me to balance cultures in my life. The best thing of being an immigrant is that it makes me unique and it gives me the power to teach people about my culture. Specially for a teen that wants to major in Latin American studies in order to teach, being an immigrant in this country is great. I want to teach Americans and my own people where we come from, that we are not all Mexicans, and that for most, the last thing we want to do is leave our homes behind. I love having a unique background and story that comes along with the label of immigrant.

Third Prize:
For Your Pathos by Miranda, China/USA, Age 17

you will pound mettle into me
before our years are over—
I sometimes wonder
if this is your intent, or
perhaps
you have failed even yourself.

at one time
yours were my only margins,
and I fit snugly
between the lines of your page.

your stark nakedness of mind
was protected only
by the thin threads that bound us.

but soon, you snapped and were felled
by your own
thin daggers.

I resent you
because you remind me
of what is impossible.