Tuesday, July 21, 2020

Undocumented

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES



Undocumented

She was an essential worker
Producing fruit and vegetables
For your family dinner table

We sang her glory
Praised her sacrifice
Admired her honest labor
Neglecting to note
She had little choice

She did what she had to do
To put food on her own table
She was brave and strong
No one could deny
She showed up every morning
Worked until night
And took care of the kids
Every evening

She caught the virus
She did not know how
She had been cautious
(but had her kids?)
She wore a mask
(except at home)
She kept her distance
(the best she could)

Twice she went to church
To pray for the afflicted
Maybe then somehow
The laying on of hands
The shedding of tears
The close contacts

She was afraid to seek help
(and afraid not to)
She was undocumented
Would they send her home?
Would they deport her?
What would her children do?

She got sick and prayed
She closed her door and prayed
She told her kids to stay away
Until she was too weak to stop them
What else could she do?
She was undocumented
Not a person
Not a face
Just another number
Stricken by the virus
Taken by the disease

They cried for her in the barrio
They mourned her in Jalisco
They took her children in
Buried her in sacred ground
Sang of her in the cantina
Wove her into their folklore
Their culture of sacrifice
They prayed the rosary

Some say she died for being illegal
Others that she died for being poor

She was brave and strong
One country broke her heart
The other did her wrong

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