Saturday, February 13, 2021

Behind Razor Wire

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IMMIGRATION


Behind Razor Wire

 

They come from Nicaragua

From Bolivia and Columbia

Individuals and families seeking

Asylum in the home of the free

How different are they

From you and me?

 

They’re not asking for a free pass

They are asking for a fair hearing

They don’t want a handout

They want a chance to realize

Just a small piece of the

American dream

 

They live behind fences

Lined with razor wire

They subsist in tents

Through all kinds of weather

Waiting for their turn

To cross the border and

Make their case

 

They have lived for years

Under these conditions

They could give up and go home

But they choose to stay

Because living in tents behind

Razor wire is better than going home

To face gangs and oppressors

They only want a decent life

They only want to breathe free

Are they really so different

From you and me?

 

As conditions grow worse

As the criminals and gangs invade

Making camp life hell

Stealing and kidnapping

Bribing and raping

Some do return home

To seek refuge there

Others hire smugglers and coyotes

With what little they can gather

Gambling on a prayer

Ending up in trucks and vans

Desperate and abandoned

On the barren desert land

They do what they can

For themselves and for their families

Are they really so different

From you and me?

 

No comments:

Post a Comment