she burns her hair away
and fades her brown skin
anything to be good enough
anything to be human enough
he doesn’t speak
and he hides his skin
anything to be invisible
anything to live
anything to be safe
she has cut her native tongue from her small mouth
she has faded her home away
anything to be a American enough
anything to be free
they are scared
they do not cry
anything to get back to their mother
anything to finally have a home
the children of the land of the free
are no longer free
they are chained by fear of a bullet being embedded into their backs
the fear of losing their parents
the fear of going back to dangerous homes
the fear of dying
much too early
This is gorgeous. It tells a story we all know without outright stating the issue and uses fairly simple lines to portray complex feelings.
thank you so so much!
I’m tingling. This is very good
thank you very much! i appreciate it.
I love the imagery (however graphic) of “She cut her native tongue cut from her small mouth.) It’s beautiful and impactful.
thank you so much!