HOUSTON HISTORY POEMS BY RESIDENT POET KATRINA MACHETTA
“Two Centuries and Fifty Years”
@ 2026, Katrina Machetta, All rights reserved
Two centuries and fifty years,
Built on courage, hope, and tears.
From thirteen states to western stars,
We carried freedom wide and far.
Across this land, our history lives,
In every blessing freedom gives.
A tapestry of old and new,
Woven in red, and white, and blue.
We feel the pulse of the pioneer,
The quiet grace of the volunteer,
A shared heritage, a single tongue—
Where songs of liberty are sung.
We honor those who paved the way,
To bring us to this golden day.
With grateful hearts, we look ahead—
By liberty and honor led.
So let the future's pages turn,
For peace and liberty we yearn.
And may the silver, guiding light
Keep unity within our sight.
From mountain peaks to coast and shore,
The light of freedom shines forevermore.
About the Author: Katrina Machetta is the Resident Poet of the Heritage Society and a United Nations Millennium Fellow and Columbia University Kraft Global Fellow. Recognized as a National Press Club Scholar, she achieved early acclaim as a member of the City of Houston’s premier youth poetry team, Meta-Four, and as a grand slam champion of the Space City Poetry Slam Series. A prolific poet, journalist, and community advocate, her work has been featured on local and national stages.
She has dedicated her poetic and journalistic career to community service, bringing her voice to some of the nation's most historic milestones. Her powerful spoken-word compositions have graced the stages of the Suffragists 100th-Year Commemoration, the international premiere of the Mandela: Struggle for Freedom human rights exhibit, and Houston's landmark 185th anniversary. Her voice has resonated at many heritage celebrations and inspired crowds across the stadium for the Houston Astros’ Jackie Robinson Day.
She is a recipient of numerous awards and scholarships including: Gold Presidential Service Award; the Congressional Gold Award; Yale Bassett Leadership Award by Yale University; Poetry Society of Texas Award; Excellence in Journalism Award; People’s Choice Award for her piece “Preserving our Future by our Actions Today”; Rotary International Youth Leadership Award; New York Women in Communications Scholarship- Columbia University; Annenberg Fellow – Annenberg’s Media, Equality & Change Center; Scholastic Art & Writing Gold Key Awards, among others.
Winter WANDERLAND OPENING NIGHT AT CITY HALL WITH MAYOR TURNER ON NOVEMBER 19, 2021
“The Spirit of All Seasons”
Click here to see HTV Houston Television’s video
@ 2021, Katrina Machetta, All rights reserved
In the happiest time of year, children are laughing, cheering, gleaming with joy.
The lights shine brighter, and history comes alive.
Traditions are weaved in every smile and celebration.
Bagby Street, the center of this city, brings together families from every ward, district, and suburb of H-town.
The challenges of the year get washed away through the light that shines in our hearts.
Every day, we are gifted a promise.
Our heritage will continue to be shared through every generation.
A history and a city that never stops giving.
We are tied together with roots extending beyond familial lines.
Open your ears to the sound of healing.
It is time for restoration and connection.
Let’s pull out the sound of hope and transformation.
The timeless bonds of this city hold us strong: resilient and sturdy.
Our city’s history is imprinted in every mural, street, and historical building.
John and Augustus Allen, the co-founders of Houston, have built a city that never stops thriving.
As the Buffalo Bayou waves at pedestrians in modern-day Houston, skyscrapers grace the sky, bright at night as the gleaming stars light the path for the American Dream.
H-Town has survived and thrived from Alison to Harvey to Covid-19.
We prevail.
We come together to celebrate the beauty of this time.
The beauty of the people, embracing our present and emerging in resilience.
From downtown to uptown, we are ready to author a brighter tomorrow.
Look around, joy is not a single time of the year.
But a multi-colored gathering, hand in hand, diverse and vibrant, celebrating the light and aspiring a universe where darkness is forbidden.
We sing in melody, a song of hope and joy.
Let’s take these colors and paint a horizon brimming with hope, to last beyond a lifetime.
THS Executive Director Alison Bell and THS RESIDENT POET Katrina MACHETTA, FILMING FOR A GLOBAL ONLINE PRESENTATION at THS
Poem by: Resident Poet Katrina Machetta of The Heritage Society ©2021, Katrina Machetta, All rights reserved.
“Esperanza: A Celebration of Hispanic Heritage and Hope”
From the touch of the language to the delight of every quinceanera,
We remember our ancestors, those who came before us, reflecting on all of their contributions: generations of sacrifices, the sweat of every struggle and triumph, and bring history alive through every fiesta and family gathering.
We sing the world into our songs of Mariachi and the world sees our grace through our bond with every generation.
We are bonded through sisterhood and the brotherhood pillars of strong men.
Our bond expands beyond state lines and deeper than the Gulf of Mexico.
In the midst of silence, whispers of hope float in the air - Esperanza (hope in Spanish).
Every year is a wave in the ocean of our heritage from Tex-Mex murals to family-owned restaurants.
This month is not here to celebrate one of us but all of us.
We all gather for our rich heritage to celebrate our resilience and vision of a bright tomorrowproverbs and stories passed down like a torch from one generation to the next.
We come from a line of artists, activists, teachers, and more.
We paint color in every generation.
We walk unified among every culture, ethnicity, and group of people.
We gallop along, educating others through our contributions, poetry, and works of art to show them history being born again and created in new ways through the Hispanic Heritage commemoration.
©2021, Katrina Machetta, All rights reserved.
MAYOR SYLVESTER TURNER, ANTIOCH MBC PASTOR LOU MCELROY, META-FOUR POET KATRINA MACHETTA, COUNCIL MEMBER EDWARD POLLARD, DISTRICT J PHOTO CREDIT: POET KATRINA MACHETTA.
HOUSTON SUFFRAGISTS PROJECT; SINGER SHERYL BRADY OF NACW; GEORGIA NOLAN, PAST TEXAS STATE PRESIDENT, CHAIRPERSON NACWC AND PAST PRESIDENT OF HOUSTON CHAPTER; META-FOUR POET KATRINA MACHETTA; AND NATIONAL PRESIDENT OF NATIONAL WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT APRIL JACKSON BANKS PHOTO CREDIT: POET KATRINA MACHETTA.
“Happy Birthday Houston”
@2021, Katrina Machetta, All rights reserved
Born in the banks of Buffalo Bayou
on the thirtieth of August of eighteen thirty-six,
the land whispers prosperity.
Since then,
you have given birth to thousands and millions
of brave and mighty Houstonians
who toiled day and night,
building pillars
where skyscrapers graced the sky,
embraced and blessed by abundant sunlight
and natural resources.
You have welcomed the world with open arms.
John and Augustus Allen laid the groundwork.
They have built a dream,
and we,
the co-creators alike,
witness the view of all that has been created on the land we call home.
As the Buffalo Bayou waves at pedestrians in modern-day Houston,
the city lies awake,
bright at night
as the gleaming stars light the path for the American Dream.
Every day is a step forward.
As we keep going,
we are gifted a promise,
witnessing movements,
creating change,
and traveling past inequities.
Brothers and sisters,
H-Town has survived and thrived from Alison, and Harvey to Covid-19.
The perils of the past bring hopes and dreams
of a vibrant tomorrow.
H-Town has come so far,
triumphantly with a rich history,
a vision and excitement for a beautiful tomorrow.
Happy Birthday, Houston.
“Together We Stand,
Apart We Fall”
©2021, Katrina Machetta, All rights reserved.
By Poet Katrina Machetta. Wonderfully written with meaningful purpose and incredible insight for the historic event on May 28, 2021, “Celebrating 6,000 African American Suffragists Who Voted 100 Years Ago”
Every vote is a voice.
For 100 years, we have had our voices heard,
although at times muted and distorted.
Now is not the time to stand still
because we are just getting started.
One piece of paper.
One act of legislation.
It doesn’t define who we are or what we can be.
This is America.
The land of the free.
Where everyday women are breaking through chains,
walking through lava,
parachuting through the clouds,
to go places we have never gone before.
Women are champions of change.
Color shouldn’t define what is at the end of a person’s rainbow.
Gender shouldn’t be a reason for someone
to say they can or can’t.
Houstonians stand together
from Harvey to Covid-19
from Downtown to Uptown
from you to me.
Take my hand and join me.
As we march forward in our movement where every person matters
no matter what color or gender they are,
where they came from,
or how they got here.
This world is like a book.
Every person is a different chapter,
all bind together,
all created to make a difference,
but only we can choose what we put on the page.
###
KATRINA PERFORMING “TOGEther we stand, apart we fall”
