Complaint of El Río Grande by Richard Blanco

 Please note that this poem contains dehumanizing language. Dehumanizing language should not be spoken or read aloud during class. See footnote 4 of the reading for further context.

"Complaint of El Río Grande" by Richard Blanco

I was meant for all things to meet:
to make the clouds pause in the mirror
of my waters, to be home to fallen rain
that finds its way to me, to turn eons ¹
of loveless rock into lovesick pebbles
and carry them as humble gifts back
to the sea which brings life back to me.

I felt the sun flare ² , praised each star
flocked ³ about the moon long before
you did. I’ve breathed air you’ll never
breathe, listened to songbirds before
you could speak their names, before
you dug your oars in me, before you
created the gods that created you.

Then countries—your invention—maps
jigsawing the world into colored shapes
caged in bold lines to say: you’re here,
not there, you’re this, not that, to say:
yellow isn’t red, red isn’t black, black is
not white, to say: mine, not ours, to say
war, and believe life’s worth is relative.

You named me big river, drew me—blue,
thick to divide, to say: spic and Yankee,
to say: wetback and gringo. ⁴ You split me
in two—half of me us, the rest them. But
I wasn’t meant to drown children, hear
mothers’ cries, never meant to be your
geography: a line, a border, a murderer.

I was meant for all things to meet:
the mirrored clouds and sun’s tingle,
birdsongs and the quiet moon, the wind
and its dust, the rush of mountain rain—
and us. Blood that runs in you is water
flowing in me, both life, the truth we
know we know: be one in one another.

Credit Line: Used with permission of Beacon Press, from How to Love a Country: Poems, by Richard Blanco, 2019; permission conveyed through Copyright Clearance Center, Inc.

Use the "Complaint of El Río Grande" Analytical Roles Discussion handout with this poem and teach a Facing History lesson featuring these resources.

• 1Eons: The longest division of geological time, encompassing hundreds of millions or even billions of years.
• 2Flare: A sudden brief burst of light.
• 3Flocked: Gathered.
• 4In this stanza, Richard Blanco uses dehumanizing language to highlight conflict between people on either side of the US-Mexico border. ”Spic” and ”wetback” are deeply offensive ethnic slurs historically directed at people from Central and South America. These terms are always inappropriate and harmful, and they should never be used in any form of communication—whether in conversation, in writing, or on social media. ”Yankee” often refers to people in the United States. “Gringo” is a more complex term, typically used by Latin Amerians to describe foreigners or those perceived as outsiders, particularly in relation to Latin American culture. It can apply to anyone from US citizens to non-Spanish speakers to Latin Americans not in touch with their heritage. Both “Yankee” and “gringo” can denote “otherness” and can be offensive, depending on the intent of the speaker and the context in which they are used. As you reflect on the poem, consider why Richard Blanco chose to include these terms. What might he want you, the reader, to think about or feel?