Ethan Norales De La Rosa: Celebrating Heritage and Haiku with "Quetzal's Journey"

samantha-beaty-packery-channel

Photo of Packery Channel, Corpus Christi by Samantha Beaty

Ethan de la Rosa is a student at Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi who is currently studying Computer Science. He submitted his piece, "Quetzal’s Journey", to Windward Review Volume 22: Revolution as a way to celebrate his family’s heritage. His family enjoyed the poetry, and he shares a similar feeling towards publishing it. While others might feel scared to publish something so personal and honest, Ethan feels differently: 

“I wasn’t afraid. I wanted to publish it in order to celebrate my heritage and family.” 

For Ethan, sharing his heritage is an important aspect of poetry. And his passion payed off: editors accepted his poem for publication in Volume 22, set to be released in October 2024. 

kids running through field stock

When asked about his advice for aspiring poets, he enforces the importance of writing about things as they are: 

“Think of the tone or emotion that you want to display, or try to describe things in a haiku manner, not about metaphors or themes but of things that just are.” 

Here is an exerpt of Norales de la Rosa's epic, prosaic poem, "Quetzal's Journey". Please note that in this exerpt, some stanzas were skipped over with ellipses marking these spaces. The entire poem will be published in Volume 22: Revolution (digital and print) this October 2024. 

Quetzal's Journey

Born in the land of Los Quetzales,

a place that meant everything to me, 
and nothing to someone in the lands of stars and stripes. 


           There was a house where there lived a happy nest, 
                   the mother, the father, and the children. 

                               It was a happy family 
                               only for a little while.

                                The mother was ill,

              the resplendent color that shone like the sun, 

             A voice that could revive the most wilted flower, 

                                       All Gone. 
 
            Gone were the days of her chirping to her children,joshua-j-cotten-painted bunting-Oso Bay Wetlands Preserve

Painted bunting at Oso Bay Wetlands Preserve, Corpus Christi, Texas by Joshua J. Cotten.

                     the red crimson on her tail and chest

                and lush green that adored her face and wings 

                                    had turned to rust.

                 The mother could barely remember to chirp, 

                           She couldn’t even remember to fly.
                                       
                                        And so she died,

                              the nest devoid of her presence.
joshua-j-cotten-couchs kingbirds-Hazel Bazemore County Park-County Road 69
Couch's kingbirds at Hazel Bazemore County Park, Corpus Christi, Texas by Joshua J. Cotten.
                                 
               
                She died in the way nature intended, 

              Slowly, inhumanly, confused, and scared.
                       Her family could only watch,
                and the eldest bird could only weep. 
...
Now I often remember the smell of mango and papaya
that came from my father’s hands, 
and my mother sang me to sleep.
 
 
Now with a nest of my own, 
With my own little birds that I have to take care of, 
wanting to watch them fly as high and far as the winds can take them. 
birds dusky landscape stock
 
So I choose to leave with my little birds, 
 
to leave all I knew behind, 
 
the strong sense of familiarity to create a better life.
 
And so I moved North, 
to the land of stars and stripes. 
 
I carried my children across the forests that I’ve known, 
 
Pass mountains the size of giants.
...

                                   I used all of my strength to carry my little birds

                                                                            To the land of gold,

                                                                        To the city by the bay.

joshua-j-cotten-Mollie Beattie Coastal Habitat Community-Laguna Madre-Padre Island

Mollie Beattie Coastal Habitat Community, Laguna Madre, Padre Island, Corpus Christi, by Joshua J. Cotten.