Immigration
Learn more about other poetry terms
For crying out loud
Due to the outcome
I was not particularly proud
For more than two centuries, election days go and come
No racist rat is indeed above the law
Justice must be blind, fair, equal and raw
For all, in a democratic society
The history of Black People,And all of our People should be celebratedYear-round: every day, week, month, and decade.The celebration must go on unabated,All the time. The first couple,
In the USA, Black History month is celebrated
In February, the month with the shortest days
The least racist person is a racistThe least fascist person is a fascistThe least criminal is a murdererThe least sinner is a big sinner.
Sous le pont De Del Rio sont arrêtés, coincés, entassés
Amassés des milliers d'Haïtiens migrants, pas d'Ukrainiens
Bajo el puente Del Río están parados, atascados, estacionados
Miles de inmigrantes Haitianos, no Ucranianos
Francamente, si fueran estos últimos, no serían sancionados
Meu país é o belo sol
Meu país não é o inverno rigoroso
Meu país é um Éden muitas vezes verde
Sempre lânguido e tropical ao amanhecer.
Mi patria es el hermoso sol
Mi país no es el invierno duro
Mi país es un edén a menudo verde
Siempre lánguido y tropical al amanecer.
My country is the beautiful sun
My country is not the hard winter
My country is an often green Eden
Yes, I will certainly vote
But I won’t vote for liars
I will not vote for backstabbers
Powerful words,Truthful words,Honest words,Brave words;This is exactly what the Doctor orders,For a nation, who's trying to fight the horrorsOf blatant racism,
You are nobody
As I am nobody
You are somebody
As I am somebody
There’s one humanity
Let’s thank God and Jesse
Encore des larmes aux yeux pour notre brave Haïti
Encore des larmes aux yeux pour notre incroyable Pays
Be not afraidTo fight the right fightsThe hate, the hatredTo regain your rightsTo end bigotry, racismFascism and nepotism.
Wir kommen
Wir wandern
Und wir gehen
Das ist alles was wir wissen.
Wir kommen auf die Erde
We come
We roam
And we go
That’s all we know.
We come on earth
We roam, we surf
These are not events that took place very far in the past
These are obviously ongoing racial gaffes and contrasts
Where human beings are bombarded and mistreated
Tell me more about democracy
Nobody is a fool
Tell me more about dichotomy
Go ahead! I am cool
I love; I really love your voice and your dictionRecite me a poem in an unknown languageI don't give a darn about the pronunciationUndress the words; I love them when they're naked.
The nonstop negative news or publicities on Haiti
Hurt tremendously and disturbingly
The relentless or constant bashings of all Haitians
I’m exhausted by the grief
And drained by this place
This place that once held promise
This world that once had values
Or perhaps it never did
You would have to see or witness this to believe it
These horses were smarter than the border patrol agents
Because the smart animals avoided charging these poor migrants
This is not a recrudescence of racism
In America or in the world, but rather
A continuum of malfeasance, antagonism
And hardcore cruelty of the systemic horror
Myriads of Haitian-Americans will vote in the next US election
We are sending stern warnings to the current administration
We will vote for one party and we will rock the boat
Mitt hus
Det huset, biblioteket på Skogås,
Och dessa vägar med musikaliska namn,
Runt andas jag av fur och gran.
Här, på fuktigt lövverket umgås
Och leker, springer, babblar barn.
I was always a man on move, a man on run, a man on Highway
Maybe, that is my destiny, my karma, my go to place, my secret conclave
Highways keep on surprising me as magic unfolds every second
Romantic blood and majestic past;
Flatter the abused, give them scraps,
Or they’ll ask for respect.
Maintain a system
Of perception.
No, don’t call it oppression.
You are made of gold --
Waterman,
Dutch liner
on which you made your passage-
Father,
smiling from the gangplank
hand raised, waving at your friend's
camera...
and all this, from my memories
-and yet i am still breating
feeling
she is gone but i still feel her spirit surrounding me
the colors of her country seep through her
and onto me
this is the dream of an immigrant
this is progress.
The American Dream
A run in fear
The sprint to safety
A jog for a dream
A race with death
I moved to New York with a head full of dreams
Left behind what I knew and was scared to face my fears
I told myself "isn't this what you wanted? Why are you afraid?"
I finally understood the changes that had to be made.
Silently in the back she sits, everyday in every class,
Waiting for the bell to ring like a spilling hourglass.
Her name remains anonymous to all except the teacher,
Rolling stones
can gather no moss
and so,
much can be said
for stability,
for establishing roots,
having a sense of place,
spending generations at the old
homestead.
Flora
and Fauna
innocent and pure elements
of nature's dance
you have never known
nor observed,
borders or barriers
and for you,
fences are useless.
Though cattle and tumbleweeds
An anonymous Katya or Magda
with a simple peasant face, yet with eyes of intensity-
you look at the camera with candor...
There's nothing pretentious here, no flashiness
Growing up education was of great importance
I always had to have the best academic performance
The most inspiring people I know
Always with me where I go
My mom and dad
didn't have the opportunities I had
Immigrants THIS And Immigrants THAT ... !!!
All This Government Talk's Helping Hatred SOAR ... !!!!!
Meantime They KEEP ON Making Plans And Setting ... "TRAPS" ... !!!
Moving from Japan to Hawai’i by boat
A long journey, a new beginning
Money was in need and there was work to be done
The sun shined bright, heat became unbearable
To Become English Citizens It's Been ... " Alleged " ...
Some Women Are Willing To ... S P R E A D Their Legs ... !!!
I Guess You Really Can't Blame Them ... !?!
" Lunar House " ... Down There In Croydon ...
When you are clueless what to do and what not to do
When the wall ahead seems too high to cross
When the road uphill seems too stiff to climb
When the task in hand looks insurmountable to fulfil
You were young
and dumb.
A man from Juárez,
driving around Aurora.
Banda music blaring
from the speakers,
Much like a zombie,
a person sans vie
prowling around mimicking birds
constantly using idiotic words
Sleep all day, party all night,
constantly cutting short other’s lives
Adornamos la sala con embras; vino, rojo, negroEs un carnival de color
snip, snip, snippasa me otra
Cuidado!agara la tijera firmejala los hilos sueltosmira, asi
Shed the skin of the colonizer
As if it is not also mine
As if the blood coursing through me did not also
pool along the legs of Malintze
The land out in the sea
Mysterious and hidden
From many who wish to see
A place of triumph
A place of beauty tis it
One of which many wish to visit
Oh, how quick they were to try and suffocate the flames
On the sacred, seasoned, sanctuary known as Notre Dame.
Oh, how the people stared and sobbed and frowned and asked God why
Born in classic white suburbia,
The most American Dream of cities.
Gifted with white picket fences,
Highly rated schools,
And a Mexican population of 3.2%.
There’s this static noise
In every phone call
Getting harder to ignore
As the days go by
An unspoken truth:
There is a song that I was forced to hear
The voices were often lined with not love, but neither hate
This song is known far and near
This song was never recieved with much love, but neither hate
I am from the vast landscapes
Of the Horn of Africa
I am from the bitter-sweet coconuts
That fall from the pine trees
I am from Somalia
The Country that breeds my heritage
When you stepped off that plane
With your darkened eyes
And heavy suitcases
And rumpled clothes
Your heart was full of
Dreams
We come from a land filled with a loud and colorful noise echoing in the streets; timeless traditions; a love between everyone in the community, regardless of differences.
I remember the days when you were nine. Where rainbows cast a kaleidoscope line. Our homes were safe and borders clear, no longer the case, alas our fears. I would hold your hand and guide our way, down dusty roads past fields of hay.
I once believed in the American dream.
I believed in it because of its hope--
Its guarantee that if I worked hard enough I just might touch the fluorescent green light.
The pilot says
We're landing in thirty minutes
thirty minutes to prepare
for a new land
a new language
new people.
Should I be excited
or scared?
I left my friends,
family,
I ripped my heart from my chest, as I am apt to do;
"Do you believe in God?" Does "God" believe in you?
I wasn't raised a Catholic, but I know Baptists,
they come from far away
leaving behind everything they know
hoping everything will be okay
some packing nothing but a photo
Breath of marble
And how could we continue
to ignore the nature to us fraternal,
in the black martyrdom without land,
of the crucified migrant to the mast
I was born
Of a European Yew.
Its mighty bough had grown
Twisted and encrusted
With moss
In the garden of my great-great grandfather.
As he left his house for the final time
The melting pot stopped melting because water can only boil so much when there are no additives;
I am not an addict, but I know addition.
I can churn out chorizo like your ancestors could churn butter.
In the eyes of the president, I’m a fucking rapist
In the eyes of the president, I don’t work for shit
In the eyes of the president, I’m a drug user
Red, white, and blue
What does that mean to you?
To you red might symbolize love
But to me red symbolizes the blood
I’d love to rest my head on my mother's shoulder but,
She wouldn’t understand and tell me instead, be strong.
To you, who flew in face of everything despite the world's old plans,
Like a flower blooming after the garden was torched.
To you, the saving grace, generosity spurred by love for a stranger,
I am from red soap and red skies
I am from limonada con tehuacan
I am from the heart of Mexico city and the outskirts of Izamal
I am from my abuelita y her abuelitas before her
Surrounded by voices; I was a <murmur>.
Fear had stolen my lips away,
Locked them in a vault under the sea-
Why?
My mind was confused.
My fight does not stem from the desire to overpower
My fight stems from my roots embedded in the rich earth of my motherland
My struggle stems from the recognition that evil will always exist if good stays silent
Power was not what I gained
Rather what I used
Knowledge was what I used
And also gained
POETRY was a time machine
I wrote of the anguish of a slave
To say he or she was not important
I come from a little town in the western part of Mexico
A pueblo called Santa Anita in Guadalajara, Jalisco
From dreamers both my parents and I
Who came to seek a better future until we die
We come here in hopes of a new life,we come here in hopes that we'll surive,but we're not welcomed here, we're pushed aside told,you come from the wrong country please leave or die.
How do people expect
Someone new to this place,
To learn the language
Without putting sounds to a face.
As you get older those things take time.
To learn the rules and make things rhyme.
Dear mother,
Drifting into a land unknown,
What did you fear at the ripe age of nineteen?
You have spread your wings and flown,
Through fearless endeavors in an ocean so green,
Dear Beautiful America,
A scared girl she was when she crossed the border.
Her parents wanted a better life for her…more opportunities
She was too young.
“Illegals” and “Aliens” they called her
Hello Brother.
I miss you
Our family misses you.
It isn't your fault.
You did nothing wrong.
No one can help where they're born.
This has left our family torn.
Winter is leaving soon- are you prepared for spring?
Another year has flown by- not ready to slow down.
They say a new year another chance- a new year filled with opportunities.
Dear Beautiful:
From then until now
Your scars still show
Your tears are dried
and when people speak
it hurts.
Dear Beautiful:
You think you are so unnatractive
Dear Mr. Trump,
I feel like I’m living in a required reading novel,
I’ve been hoping it’s A Wrinkle in Time, but it’s looking like 1984.
Please stop goading North Korea, please.
I’m finally beginning to come to the terms with the fact
That I live in a world where most people would rather build a wall than a bridge
That dreams are not for children
Smile at the Russian man who talks kindly of his home landLaugh with the German girl who walks with an American Shake hands with the French man who will learn English in time
Dear world,
He says - we speak English in America
She says - don't speak in your language
Ask me who I am
Ask me how I've built
Upon my American dream
Ask me how I feel
The sinister lies/of the people/Who have never experienced the truth/They see a pride of lions prowling on their prey,/I see them feeding their starving cubs./They see it as an invasion of their territory/I see shivering and freezing creatures loo
They had me…
They had me…
They had me on my knees… begging for me to return back
Begging to redo my shameful mistake
To redo my past
To redo the few minutes that I had… to regain their trust.
37.1 trillion cells
23 pairs of chromosomes
46 chromosomes total
4 stories
The pigment of my skin, a reminder of the humid city my family came from.
You came unto me
Because you love me
And because I love you
I will protect you
And because you love me
You will defend me at every opportunity
And because I love you
A mother,
looking down at her child,
giving kisses to his forehead, and holding him close.
A teenager, acting foolishly and disrespectfully
towards his crush, who seems to be uncomfortable.
There was once a mermaid,
From the sea.
Who wished to be,
like you and me.
To freely walk on city streets.
And find a place worn with peace.
Her home you see, was wrought with strife.
Once upon a time,
In a world gray and blue
Lived an orphan,
A blossoming youth,
With golden hairs,
And deep blue eyes,
But rough, burnt skin,
And a foreign smile.
White walls
Question my worth because you can
then drain my essence through your fingers
I am sand
I am sand.
White walls
They don't understand
Once upon a time people lived in peace
And everybody's sadness came to cease
But now all of this is gone because now
People judge you for being who you’re
Every single day without fail a voice would blare out the words to an anthem that we loyally repeated,
Right hand over our heart
Left hand behind our back
Trudging and dragging
In the scorching heat
Gravel and dust blows
Across their feet
A woman holds the hand of a child
1992marks the yearmy grandmotherfinallymade it to the United States. 2017marks the year she becamea citizen. somewhere in betweenthose yearsI realizedAmericadoes not look like me.soon after came the realization thatAmerica only lovesa familiar fac
America is a puzzle.
The people are the pieces.
Pieces that come in all shapes, sizes, and colors.
Each piece is made of wood
That comes from all over.
Mexico, Canada, Poland, Germany, Japan, China and India.
The red white and blue
Seem to mock the brown hues of our skin
But we plant our feet firmly
We are here to stay
Blood, sweat, and tears,
Land of the free and home of the brave.
We take the world's pitiful and their worst.
Freedom and happiness is all that we crave,
The poor, however, are forever cursed.
Each breath taken is
An exercise,
An experiment that stretches the definition of "American,"
Attempting to find the extent of a definition on paper
And applying it to a person who lives and breathes and grows,
Crucible (Noun).
That Merriam-Webster, you know--
The paperback with the musty smell and the bright red circle
On the cover, a standard, commonplace to school and kirk-
Land of the free
And home of the brave
That’s what they’d say. Yes,
That’s what they say.
But then like a plague
My Parents fled from Iraq
To the great U.S of A
Seeking Religous freedoms, while keeping Saddam at bay
Michigan is where they settled
Had children who grew and mettled
I gazed in awe at the Great Lakes
What if you could fly,
soar in the sky with the birds
flying by?
What if you have to leave your family
behind to maybe never
see again?
What if you have to walk
Headlines.
Trump- worst president in history
Trump ruined America
How Trump is spending his money
The truth about Trump.
Okay, so we hate Trump.
How many of us can really say why?
From day one, boys are taught to treat women with respect.
These boys then watch their fathers vote for a man who claims you must “treat women like shit”.
Why are we turning back?
Was the scar from the trail of tears not deep enough?
To plunge another knife, in our tarnished history?
We are the epitome of irony,
and all our immigrant ancestors would agree.
Oh say can’t you see Ms. Liberty?
You should be bending down on your knees,
bending over backwards,
Begging Please
Begging that your babies stop being shot in the streets
“America the Beautiful"
Many a times I have heard
But beauty is subjective
Beautiful to thy neighbor
But to me, empty words
“America the Great”
I have heard time and time again
We are amazing
We are free
We have been born here and that is all we need to prove it
We’ll protect you, feeble ones
Our might is strong
As I’m walking out, I see a different world.I stay looking at the news, telling myself this isn’t real.I feel like I’m always gonna be asking myself why. Why does the world have to be so racist.Why does the world have to have so much hatred. Why d
They called it the free world,
Where people came from around the globe,
Where people came seeking freedom,
And now walk in fear.
What land of opportunity?
I don't want to take your jobs, or have your money-
I don't want your welfare, property, or clothes.
I don't want to take advantage of your health care or social security-
America, a country baptized in blood and built on the backs of those who wouldn't know the freedom she promised until far after her completion.
America is the new China
I was built up like
The great wall of china
I am strong, powerful, impenetrable,
Fortified heavily until nothing can hurt me.
But like the great wall of china,
Every time you turn on the TV
There’s more bad news.
It's so easy to ignore
When it's not affecting you.
People are suffering.
Children are dying.
When justice can no longer win
They scream go back to your country, but I have more native blood in my veins than they ever could
I still feel the slap of disgrace in humanity and
I will still feel the grip of xenophobia
It feels like water up my nose when I can swim but
I Still Can’t Breathe
America is pretty great
that I will admit.
Freedom, justice, liberty
We're all entitled to it.
But America is changeable.
We need some help, in fact.
There are many problems we face here.
I cannot write to you about love because as much as it is darling there are many other issues to eradicate, For instance my best friend was shoved in a closet for hours due to him humming. He couldn't control himself either,see that's what autism
A child of an immigrant knows stength,
We see it every day in their eyes.
A child of an immigrant understands courage,
We wouldn't be here without it.
A child of an immigrant is proud,
oh, give me a home <br>where the buffalo roam <br>where the deer and the antelope play <br>where seldom may heard a discouraging word <br>and the skies are not cloudy all day <br><br>america, land of true libert
Two souls live in my body
One has endless American pride
The other likes to hide
American I am called by brilliance
Mexican by my appearnce
Land of the free and of the brave is for the snobby
Rapists, criminals, drug dealers.
Is that who we are?
Is that our projection to this nation?
Hardworking, loyal, and persistent.
America the great
where we care more about a kid’s GPA more than their mental health.
where we are driven by money and not dreams.
where the people are lied to, and believe every word.
Hand over heart, head lifted to Old Glory.
A flicker, a single thought, crosses my mind.
I remember, I remember when ash rained down like new fallen snow,
Over the screams of homosexuality,
of Islam.
The hope of immigrants,
victims.
Over the screams of gender equality
Enraged women,
men,
Freedom without persecution,
is ideal,
People ask me what to me makes America. If you ask 1,000 people you will get 1,000 answers, some good some bad, so let me just lay down a few facts.
As a little girl coming from South America to this new country,
they told us about the "new life" we'd have, the great oppurtunities
but most importantly the safety
and the acceptance of this loving country.
New York
The Big Apple
Largest city in America
She has welcomed many
Many in need
Many who wanted to start over.
This amazing city
What does it mean to be free?
To be on your own
To be left alone
To not be under any control
Are people really free in America?
Of course
We're the land of the free
Everyone is welcome
What does it mean to be free?
To be on your own
To be left alone
To not be under any control
Are people really free in America?
Of course
We're the land of the free
Everyone is welcome
My grandmother saw America
not as a land of opportunity,
but as a last resort.
Taking off only when there was nothing left
Leaving because a twenty-six-year-old with four children
cannot provide on a dime.
I was built up like
The great wall of china
I am strong, powerful, impenetrable,
Fortified heavily until nothing can hurt me.
But like the great wall of china,
I am a barrier between realms
The land of the free
Oh, the possibilities that there could be
Free to exist as our true selves
Whether in religion or thought
That is was at least what I was taught
Welcome to your new job as my bodyguard
The road ahead, I know it will be hard
But when I ask for your help I know
You’ll say, do you need one of my hands or both?
On a special morning in December
20 years ago
I landed with only 2 suitcases
I cried, missing all the familiar faces
I was scared
Sretno novo leto.
Hvala, također.
We sit at our table of three
After mass in our language
(held in the real church’s basement)
Cleanliness important since birth
Ingrained in his head since he was a kid
Friday morning palms overhead
Leaves are looking a little long
Traces of dirt find their way to the ground
When I saw my dad cry I was lost, the male role model who held back tears when nothing would hold back for him. Who looked challenges in the eye and smiled.
There's a group of people, living in silence - in the darkenss
Many are aware of their existence
Many are not
Who am I to shine light on them - shine the truth
It makes me sick to the stomach
They come
From the great sea
Wanting everything
Taking all
We try to talk,
Reason
These beings
So rough and alien
I am an alien, a rapist, a criminal
My accent and skin color makes this visible
I steal jobs, in no way contribute to society
They say an illegal deserves no equality
As I get up in the morning
I greet the day.
And although the sun is shining,
A smile does not grace my face.
I go to school as I usually do,
Saying Hello to my fellow youth
Stars/// eyes meet mine across the crowd, calling for migration,temptation, must be just a friendly salutation, I tell myself, butallow for a moment, the idea it could be more.Across the border
On the occasionally sunny day,
when it does not rain
The Smiler walks out into the blue of today,
and bike rides to the city
The Smiler is one who,
sees with open eyes
You were a child
who didn't belong in one place or the other.
How could you respond to the taunts that still haunt your deep thoughts?
Between the father that hurt you
and the mother that gave you up
They walk and talk like they really know mebut I'm not just some random bodyI don't need them to dictate what I can and cannot do
The Sun rises and birds start to sing,
as I look out my window,
little innocent me.
But little did I know,
that my morning routine was about to be stopped.
It was time for me to leave,
I feel the burn of the smelly and strong relaxer on my head
The chemical takes hostage of each of my natural curls and permanently damages it
A poem inspired by the militarization of the border as well as the Chicano Movement.
Las hierlas
Immigration… I can barely begin to talk about it Immigration is a hot topic in the news these daysTrump says kick the foreigner outKeep the American paidBut the foreigners paved the wayYou see without my people There wouldn’t be what is todayBut
I have been an American
My entire life,
Ever since dad
Asked mom to be his wife.
They are American too
Despite the color of their skin,
Being born in Mexico
Doesn't make their life here a sin.
This is not about the country, This is about being undocumented.
We cross the border Without knowing our own destiny.
Some have luck, others die trying.
Some die in the desert, and others die in the train.
Do I look like a criminal or rapist?
I'm not a criminal and I'm not rapist
I am angry.
I am angry that people who support Donald Trump are proud of it
I am American,
Not only American but Hispanic.
Cultures joined inevitabley,
Treated inequitably;
Because ONE of both are immigrants
I am the result of their love
YET treated unfair
I am the Magpie.
When Winter came, I flew South;
“It’s warmer there,” they said.
Will I ever see my home again?
When Winter came, I flew South,
But I will return home in the Spring.
I am from croquettas de jamon,
From guava and cheese.
I am from sandy beaches heated by the bright, burning sun
(Beating, glistening, warming my skin, tasting like freedom)
Pack your suitcase, get on the plane
Barely four, barely knew my name
It's time to leave my home behind
In search of freedom and peace of mind
Brand new country, "paved with gold"
She traveled for days, in a maze with no direction destined for an escape from depression driven by disaffection
By fate she felt a connection
They ran until he was cuffed into oppression
Later she had a baby on the way
“Canciones de un Pájaro sin Pies”
En una isla,
Un hombre dio a luz tres hermosas aves de su cabeza.
Triste y muriendo él les dijo esto:
Eres hijos de una madre inmigrante, hijas de agonía.
He moved here for people like me
From an old place called Italy
But never lost sight of his family
And wanted them to see what he had
He didn’t want them to be sad
He had a son
Only one
The stray winds from a far-off place
Gather round over a still pool
And here the surface breaks.
(The mirror is briefly smudged
And the face is now clouded.
The ripples clear; a new face smiles.
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
We cannot walk alone.
Pursuit to gratification rises all the time.
Subconscious mind always over me,
Saying no-no go on until the thirst is quenched...
My patience bursts unhappy when not met fulfillment,
Ain't given a chance
For romance
With education
Ain't worth living
Without giving
To this nation
That doesn't want
No talk
About immigration
Especially those without legality
Another iron python hisses
Billows unnatural poisons into the air
Burns passed scarred jungle
Monotonous percussion strikes old Indian lands
Cyclope eye staring passed souls too insignificant
“This is the way the world endsThis is the way the world endsThis is the way the world endsNot with a bang but a whimper”
T.S. Eliot – Hollow Men
We dream about anything to absolutely everything.
It's time now this new idea of a new millennium, centenium
Coming only every few years or so.
Don't think you're delirious because I'm being serious.
Will you choose to see the 57,000 children fleeing on bare feet hopeful of the American dream?
What is happening to our country?
A false image of justice, freedom, and democracy
How can we be any better than Russia, China, or even slavery?
Racism, Hatred, manipulation
It's all still there
A country for the free, it was supposed to be
To be unique and new, equality to all
With innocence upheld, Lady Justice was blind
New labor laws intact, kept the people alive
Violence, much happens to people who keep silence
Oppression led the oppress to depression
One gun can kill many sons
Teenage girls are confused, all bruised
My dream job is not anything out of the ordinary. I don't want fame, nor attention. I just want to help people. The dream job that I achieve is being a doctor.
My name is Tecun Uman
I am a legend
An ancestor
Carried as a sacred bundle
A spirit
A memory
By my burned and burdened children
But my progeny starve
They feed off my spirit
They took me by the hand to the Land of Dreams,
I was young and naive, all I knew was that everyone said everything was better in the U S of A.
The years quickly passed by, years where everything was fine, everything was good.
Its sad how those with all the economic resources are born into the glamorous life of a rich education. They might not want it but yet again, they might. I know I want it but I wasn't born white. I wasn't born into that life.
The sun beats down
Hot on her pale neck
As she pauses and brushes away
A single droplet of sweat
Not a cloud to be seen
Nor a breeze to be felt
As she adjusts her sleeves
And tightens her belt
Aren’t laws and regulations supposed to be great for our country?
Well, I am a clear example that this is not true
The government thinks that separating a family because of immigration issues is ok
A never ending line of bills
Needing to be paid at the end of the month
Debt is in the trash bin.
Poverty is as stifling as the Miami heat on a Summer's day.
How can I make it?
How can I go on?
Life is full of twist and turns
Sometimes you'll be sad
Sometimes it'll burn
It'll be good and bad
Don't think your alone
I'll be there every step of the way
So change your tone
I see my country's flag
Snapping and unfurling above my head
In the light summer breeze
And I wonder,
What do people across the globe feel
When they see their flag flying high?
Many are proud no doubt
Oppression...
Suffering, Corruption
Reaping, Gaining, Destroying.
Shameful, Abominable.
Authority, Truth.
Justice...
Immigrants
shipped into the American Dream
plundered of their culture
left as empty shells
crushed by greedy hands
tossed into melting pots
molded back into shells
carrying America within.
February 5th 2009…6am
Daddy? Daddy where are you? Dad?!
The house moaned and whimpers echoed throughout the walls.
Ten years on this side
Two kids and a long-term partner.
He speaks the language and follows the laws,
But he is second class
Because he lacks legal status.
Momma says, "Education comes first."
Momma advises, "Do not marry for love, marry for money."
Momma scolds, "When I was your age, I was herding cattle"
Momma yells, "How dare you complain, when I have given you all this?"
Because my mother was an immigrant, and young, and single,
I've been written off.
They say I am most likely to drop out of school and become pregnant out of high school
like my mother.
I have been told
To walk a mile in somebody else’s shoes
If you want to understand anyone better
So I wanted to know my mother, and father too
Only to realize from the start-they had no shoes
"Is it worth it?" ...You ask,
"Wasting your time, Is it worth it?"
And my first reaction is to laugh
Jose had a dream that he would be an educated man
Jose had a dream that he would live better than his parents
Jose had a dream that he would give back to his parents
Getting on that airplane must have been hard.The entire family is on one continent, and they left it.
If there was one thing I could change,
There’s no doubt it would be
To keep my parents here with me.
And no, they haven’t died.
You can’t bring back the dead.
And no, not arrested,
They swallowed tears
before I came
to Angel Island,
their America stained
by the leaking blood
of those who stilled
their writhing flesh
with a hanging noose
She leaped from the dirt covered alleys
To the asphalt paved roadways
Leaving behind her
A distant memory of poverty
And entering
A world of opportunity
It was a long and grueling 8 years
Once, a boy goaded on by his friends
yelled “BORDERHOPPER” in my face.
(I must have a very large stride, then,
to have hopped the Pacific Ocean.)
To be fair, it was middle school.
The sun, up high
warm breeze.
humid.
take me away.
snap. flew out,
new place
cool
foggy nights.
looked back,
people anew.
no one knew.
i cried too.
She smiles every time she's with her family
In the country where dreams come true
Or where they're suppose to
Yet her parents dreams haven't come since they're arrived here in the USA
When he asked si celebro
Christmas, I responded
with a yes and a question.
"We don't do much no gifts
no commercialism not much
at all because there is
We huddled together
over something clear,
without a yolk:
egg whites
squeezed so tightly
into their rubber pin,
we mistook them for mirrors.
They tell my people to go back to their country
as if our nation's origin didn't come from immigrants.
“Lucky”
One day at school
hands shot up
across the room,
for show and tell.
Lailah went to Disney world.
She had her mouse ear cap on
and pictures glued to a piece
I have stopped counting the number of days when I feel unable to do anything
But sit on my bedroom’s carpet and allow my fingernails to create moon-shaped marks on my skin.
Dear Mr. American History:
Your tie: red white and blue,
representing the noose of oppression you pledge yourself to.
Violating laws
Upsetting age-old customs
Freedom calls
Tyrants shake with rage
Demanding death or capture
A life in exile
But we must prosper
This for our children’s children
All I see is violence
All I hear are lies
All I want is happinness
All I get is hatred
Untames and Untainted
They hate me
And at times I hate them
All I want is a chance
She stands there
Day and
Night.
Never waivering
Never backing down
The rivers water lapping at the
Island edges.
Stars twinkling behind her high
Crown.
Face forward
Repeated kindergarden
No big deal
Older than my peers
Okay
Can't drive
Can't work
Why?
Blame them all
My parents included
Deffered action
My blessing
Paid twice
By: Saranda R
Our flag waves in the ocean of pride that envelopes this country
With its economic strides and setbacks that we criticize
Adding to the problem, not developing a solution
You looked into my ten-year-old eyes
And taught me my first lesson
in the life of minority
Judged not by who I am
But where I come from
You stained my education, that day
Coming to America
To the land of opportunity
With no visa, no green card guarantee
No papers I say
I went to school
Elementary, Middle & High
In time for when,
College came around
"Hidden Identity"
by Valierose Bulosan
I am from the East and now I'm at the West
Searching for the best, not wanting to be like the rest
He wakes up in the morning,
the sun is painting the horizon with its rays.
He sits at the table, yawning,
because it's getting harder to sleep these days.
Breakfast is huevos rancheros,
It’s kinda funny sometimes
When I’m chatting online with my friends
Ranting about the immigrant child life
Trying to make my case to those who don’t understand
Funny because all my messages
Come out
When I left my birth country Cuba,
I swore to myself never to look back.
I was a child of four and yet I learned two valuable lessons that night that I left Cuba,
One: Parents lie,
For I was not going to the beach,
Just dust I am, but God did mold my soul
I saw the light but I was born in war
My place of birth, no food it bore only war
The crops did die; the men did die and die
My mom did flee, my dad as well and I.
We travel across the ancient land
along emptiness and desert sand
Searching for riches and for gold
From stories our ancestors told
Travelers since the day of birth
in search for gems of the earth
I write for the ones
Who cannot speak for themselves
For they are not given voices
But left dusty on the shelves
They make our country stand
In a spot so unreachably tough
Yet as hard as they try
They've enjoyed our waiting
They've indulged in lies
They've prolonged discussions
They've listened to our cries
I've lurked in the shadows too long
i hear the world screaming, the sickening wails i hear;
those of the hopeless—each of them a separate and eerie tune
the homeless shouting his, humble and strong as he walks through cold and empty streets
On a mid day in April, you have made a decision,
A decision to leave your country for my education.
Tearful goodbyes and hopefully minds,
Soon to be shaken by the terrible kinds
Of difficulties and obstacles
Here I am,
Finally!,
A second before I take that step,
I reflect,
My eyes perceive multiple worlds,
They form into questions,
Like "Will I succeed from this step?",
Calluses riddle his palms that were tender once
Marks of the weary
Marks of the worried
Bags under his eyes darken already dark skin
Traces of the teary
Traces of the tired
We will never again label people like animals they said
We will never again let a government kill millions they said
But what about the immigrants I say
What. Is America?
Is it
the juxtaposition of pink toned flesh
against deep caramel skin?
Is it
the way his tresses twist and turn
whilst her strands lay straight and silky?
Every morning Dad comes home
Exhausted and shattered by his work
The money wouldn’t be asked more.
Fumblingly his hands in the kitchen
Quick cooking for breakfast as dinner,
Quick eating but no one asking for.
Our intentions are to find a better Life.
We come to this country to work that's all.
When we get here we are treated like bad people
We aren't given a chance to explain.
This injustice, it isn't right. We are all human, but they all wanna fight.
Aren't we all the same? Isn't the same color blood running through our veins.
i am me
old, frigid..some days young..
prisoned and free.
Greyed vision for me
A tanned skinned for you
For this is all you see.
-With “New Colossus” (1883) – Emma Lazarus-
“Give me your tired,
Your poor,
Your huddled masses,
Yearning to breathe free…”
How naive are we to believe that the civil rights movement is over?
Is it because we can all vote for our presidents?
Because no black man has to fear a master, running away from the screams?
How many times will the wind keep blowing?
How much further do we have to go?
Better off finding a way out, never knowing
how much time we have lost here.
No one had strength or courage.
Walking on in the oven like desert.
Living with fear frighten by the thought of getting caught.
I have just one question to ask.
Was it worth the sacrifice?
Last night, in my slumber, I had a dream
It was an American one, one of exceptional encouragement
And oh the intricacy of this grand scheme
So grand, the world knew it was nowhere near forspent
This is when your jaw drops,
You've finally seen the agony of a man that serves another for scraps,
Builds a family from the ground up and still can't see the light,
Que tienen miedo de la soga y de morir
