Today's poem is by Luis Lopez-Maldonado

Corazones De Papel
       

Part I: Land Before Democracy
We wereare ancient dreamers, our backs heavy with discrimination our walls infested with crucifixes
our brown little dreamers rejecting the term dreamers calling out the white people on their racism
fascism leftism fake journalism, because activism is cool Instagram worthy and high school
teachers with their high school books continue teaching Christopher Columbus discovered America white
teachers reaffirming that their democracy is fair and correct and powerful and honest and real,

Part II: Republicans Guns Kill People
In less than a minute

at the first slap across face,
kick to ribs, yank of hair,
blue bruise to brown skin:

ten thousand poemas
would have already been lived

I praise life. Because I'm still here.
Still gay. Still brown.
Still free:

USA: let's go to school:
shot, to the mall: shot,
pray at church: shot,
twerk at a gay club: shot,
get some frozen pizzas
at Wal-Mart: shot,
how 'bout music concert:
shot, a morning yoga class:

shot,

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Copyright © 2023 Luis Lopez-Maldonado All rights reserved
from Fourteen Hills
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission