It's Me

You ask who I am.
I am a citizen of the world.
I have lived here and there,
without a fixed address
where I could receive news
from those I once knew.

My life began in a city
where life passes… even without passing.
The weather is always the same,
and the people, for the most part, are kind.

You ask who I am.
I am your neighbor, your friend,
the kid no one will remember,
and the one who saw you cry…

I was born in that small country
between Nicaragua and Panama,
where I left my roots behind
and became an eagle at an early age.

My childhood took place in Europe, under the care
of an exceptional man—my father.
My youth held every shade of experience:
at 12 in Mexico, at 14 in Sabalito,
at 15 in Washington, and at 18 in San Salvador.
I had no fixed direction, and the street was my school—
it taught me more than any classroom.

You ask who I am.
I am the student who did not speak,
and the dreamer who once inspired you
with his idealism…

At 20, I became a father for the first time.
At 23, I graduated from college.
At 26, I got married.
And at 31, I finally have roots
in a town in old New England.

I learned how to live, and the value of freedom,
when at 18 I left my parents’ home
with a suitcase full of dreams.
Many never came true,
but they shaped the person writing to you today.

Who am I, you ask? I am a traveler,
a lover of humanity… I am me.
Just me—your friend, your lover, your son,
your father, your grandson… I am me,
just me and a suitcase full of realities.

Now I have a mailing address,
a driver’s license, and soon,
a mortgage to pay.
The day has come when you know
where to find me.

You ask who I am. I am me.
I am yours… not who I was yesterday,
nor who I will be tomorrow.
I am me… the one who always has
a minute to listen.

I am me… a citizen of the world.