“Sí, that is right,” Papi says.
My father tells me that I am like a branch from that Cuban mango tree. He says Georgia is like the magnolia tree. I must wait. Eventually, the mango and magnolia will grow together.
I lean over and smell a sweet magnolia flower from the tree in our yard.
I smile. I will wait.
I am a tree that gives forth both mangoes and magnolias.
I am an American.
Carmen Agra Deedy
Carmen Agra Deedy (1960- ) based this story on events from her childhood. She was born in Havana, Cuba, and came to the United States with her family in 1963. Deedy grew up in two cultures. She was always trying to find her own place. Her father’s words were helpful.
“Sometimes I still feel like I don’t fit in,” Deedy says. “Then I remember Papi’s story, and I know that I don’t have to stop eating the fruit to smell the flowers.”