Lovely that we get to live here.                                     

Grateful for the hard work of someone else,                               For Chance

I don’t believe in chance                                                          I believe in purpose

The belief in self-made men                                                  (Sometimes women)

The archetype of an American                                               Tends to visualize

I am an American                                                                And I tend to visualize

Light skin, dancing, uniqueness only                                 in the presence of sameness

And I am grateful                                                            for the women who won suffrage

And I am grateful                                                          for the women who kept fighting

Until their brown skin too                                              Had suffrage

I am not grateful                                                        That history has repeated itself

Become self-contained                                             We need not let go of the past

When we live in it                                                  Human rights called into question

Every moment                                                      the question of whether someone deserves

To marry                                                             the mere fact that there is a debate

Over                                                                  If healthcare is a human right

Hypocrisy                                                         Is rampant

Was there                                                      really integrity in the “good old days”

Was there                                                   truly less consumerism, self-absorption

Or was there                                            just less diversity, less progressiveness, to ridicule

Were there                                           no flaws to take into account

Or are the good old days                    romanticized

In an effort                                      to continue the subhuman treatment?                          

More about avoiding the label of being a racist then taking into account unconscious prejudice

More about parading culture as a fashion statement while disappearing when the culture is mocked

Or disrespected. Perverted. Choked. Ignored                     

Now the rhetoric flows in the direction of

“We are all part of the human race.” Sounds

Nice. Like that saying. The one that teaches

Us to be grateful. Don’t trust the hand that

chokes the mouth. Doesn’t let you breathe

Then demands you be grateful. You thugs,

You terrorists, you abominations, you cripple

You should move on. Be the bigger person.

Don’t be a sore loser. Americans fight for

Their rights. Are these really the words of an American?

I see a hypocrite and his self-made rhetoric.

I see no time to be angry in this world that

Values white lives and brown lives the so

Disproportionately. Then pats itself on the

Back. This is not new, in idea or in practice.

History will not be forgotten by those it has

Hurt. Genocide and internment camps will

Not be forgotten. The internet has given us

A breathing tube.  A half broken one but

We are used to it. Use to any and all denial

Of privilege, blame or reparations. I say

That I know the pain not because

    I want to simplify us all to the

    human race but because I want

       to honor the sacrifice and

           protest called getting up

            in the morning And

           defending oneself in

             a relentless world

            that was not created

              for brown Muslim

                    Girls like me.

 

For Americans like me.

 

And there is

Not one story

To this building.