Stop ignoring me. I know that you do it so easily
But please try to see me.

I’m the problem you try to hide.
I’m the child left behind.

I’m the anger in this state
I’m the hope that is ingrained.

I’m the angry youth, which is your future.
Whose hopes and dreams you try to butcher.

I, brought by desperate mother and alcoholic father.
Born in the so-called “wrong side.”

Why do you hate me and call me illegal?
Why? Do you feel scared?

I think you do.

Scared of me of my color or my people?
Or of my potential?

I don’t think you’ve realized
That even if you don’t sympathize,
I will not agonize,

And there is no need to debate,
Because my dreams are much larger than your hate
I don’t know if you can relate…
So like Fox allow me to give you an update.

The next time you throw something my way
It will not be ok

This is my home.
And I am here to stay!

But Waiting
Is all I can do.

And Sitting,
Is all I have become.
I hear the drops, splattering…slower
I hear the voices echoing…It’s over

I am not the criminal,
I am not the one to blame.
I am not an “illegal”

I am not the other,
I am you…
and your ancestors reaching this land.
Inhabited, feeding, sustaining my antepassados.
But remember your ancestors and Columbus
You are an overstayed, visa lacking immigrant.

But in case you were wondering…I do not hate the Sheriff.
Because hate is too strong a word…too wrong a word… and yet the ignorance and fear he emits, makes me feel Sorry for him

He has tortured me, terrorized me, and still I stand free…as a tree with deeper roots than you can ever imagine.

Let us all be free.
You know if you deport us…
YOU will have to clean your own toilets
and build your own homes and pick your own food.

So, no, it is not convenient to stop this oppression
But we endure, and we will not give up….

Because when the DREAM Act passes, and believe me…you will see…

My dreams will reach… reality.

And you WILL remember this poem,

You will remember me.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

We have a fantastic poem submission from a youth with the Voces de la Frontera group in Wisconsin.  It is called ‘Colors’ and speaks of the struggles that undocumented immigrants are undergoing.

So many faces

So many places
Where to go and not be stared down
I feel like a wine stain in a carpet

So many faces
So many different thoughts
Why am I seen like the bad person

All I want: to do a good job
Live a good life
Better than my childhood
Make my family like the kids I go to school with

So many colors
We need to rise up
But it’s hard
When the bright light is against us

So many colors
I just want it to be like a tie die shirt
Mixing colors
Having fun
Curious to see how the shirt will end up at the end
But it’s not like that

So many colors
They don’t want to mix
There is a wall, blocking
Blocking
It’s hard when you’re being blocked
Blocked from the shade of the wall

What can we do?
Clam the wall
It’s getting taller
It’s getting longer

All I want is a better life
Leave all I have and start a new one
Plant a seed and watch it grow
Grow up and be able to touch the sun
See the bright light

So little flowers, that actually grow
So many opportunities, so much interest

So many colors
It’s like oil in water
The bright light doesn’t want the flower to grow

So much, so little
So many faces
So many colors
So many bodies
So many lost

So many shapes
Circles, triangles, squares, ovals, rectangles
So many sizes, figures, curves
They are all different but are all called the same
So many things that are so unique

So many faces that don’t matter
So many families
So many tears drops
The bright light is shining
It doesn’t care
To them it’s like losing a penny
It’s only worth one cent
But when you add one cent to another cent and another it adds up
One cent turn into million
A million that are lost
A million families that are affected
A million hearts that are broken

All I want is a better life,
Make my family proud
Why do they do this to us?
All I wanted was to get a job
An education
I feel trapped like a monkey,
In a cage put in for display
I didn’t do anything wrong

Why am I seen like a bad person
We put our lives to risk
One day they will see us as a $100 bill
And they will see how much they lost
The wall will block but it won’t stop us from getting in

Taller or longer there is more them one way to get in
Come to a new country
Which they say there us liberty and justice

So many colors
One day it will get better
We will be a shinning penny
Be the perfect shape
Makes a rainbow that shines bright
Be the coolest tie die shirt

One day
The day feels so far away
But closer at the same time

One day the flower will grow,
Touch the sun’s bright light

One day
I’m not giving my hopes up
All I say in my head is,

One day, one day
Just one day it will happen
I know it will

One day
Colors will make history

One day we will win and we will make history. We are actually making history right now by sharing our stories and fighting for our right to exist in a country that does not even consider us worthy of applying for citizenship.

If you would like your work (poems, creative art, videos) to be displayed on this blog, feel free to drop us a line any time.