They say/your language is broken
pero broken is/more than a sentence
misplaced subject and verb
more than a pause before
your first language takes hold
more than sentences sprouting
mother tongue leaves
sprinkled on meals for a flavor of home
you can’t quite replicate
with the ingredients on hand
pues, tamam, evet
They say/your language is broken
pero broken is / La Frontera
a sea that carried you
while it buried others
broken is the unraveling seams
of “American dreams”
Larena Ortiz is a poet, freelance photographer and former educator currently living in Los Angeles. She earned her B.A in International Studies at the University of San Francisco and M.A in Migration Studies in Osnabrück, Germany.
Eunoia Review 
I like to listen to “broken” English knowing that one day, that will be the “correct” English.
So Only
Whenever we interpret, translate, transcribe
The work of other brilliant women and men
Do we add the most to this by staying silent
Diminishing our voice so only theirs is heard