about to cross the first finish line

I am Jeffrey
I am in a technological world
The twenty-first century
Seeing the world change every day
For the best and worst
For the rich no change economically
For the poor change dramatically
Money rules all
Assumptions of failure
A bad future
Won’t go to college
Work at a bad job
Just by the color of skin
And my last name

A past of royalty
And a present of middle class
And a future of question
You may have seen what I have seen
Done the things I’ve done
Committed errors and lies
All in the circle of my life
But I have done it MY WAY!
Not yours, not yours, not yours,
Not even yours.
But hey that’s me
I life that has taken me 17 years
Hope there's more on the way
A life of expectations
With some failures
But of course SUCCESS

I have two bloodlines
But I accept both
I believe in what I need to believe in
I have pride in being a Mayan
I have pride in being a Pipil warrior
I have pride in the blood that runs through my veins
I am proud of my parents
Of their history
Of their parents history
And the future I will start

II: Ancient History
I am Guatemalan
Loud and proud
Intelligence comes from my ancestors
The ones who lived there before
But what is left in ruins
The blood runs through me
My mother, my aunt
My uncle, and grandmother
And at last my grandpa Thomas
Que. Dios tenga tu espíritu con el
History of leaders
Kings and warriors
The focus to move forth
The belief in customs
I am Guatemalan

I am Salvadorian
Destined for greatness
A soldier in me
with a politician in my head
A history of people with success and failure
And whatever is in between
The blood runs through me like a river
It gives me all I could ever receive
The wisdom of all the past generations
From my father
From my Grandpa Alberto
Que. Dios tenga tu espiritu con el
History of soldiers and politicians
Indigenous and foreign
Some to look for others
While others to refuge
The Incas with their minds give me ideas each day
Since they have had great descendants
The Pipil the Incas and now us
I am Salvadorian

I am a Mayan living under a religious society1
Believing in every custom imaginable
I see indigenous people around us
Getting ready for a ceremony they did not volunteer for
I see the priest saying a prayer before the sacrifice
I remember my brother along side myself
Know just under my house five feet under
Their are people on my homeland
Invading
Taking
Abusing their welcome we treat them like humans
They treat us like dogs
A lower life form what is wrong with these people
We fight a long battle feeling the sword of Cortez
Each slash and blood

Same like my brothers from El Salvador
Painting each other for a custom
A custom for protect
For well being
For the best of others and ourselves
I see the War Of 1969 during a soccer tournament, maybe you’ve heard of it
Its known as the World Cup2
A war with more words than deaths
A war that made us who we are today
Not to let anything stop us keep fighting
Till you see you are finished

III: joining the melting pot

We came for lives for the future and present
To start again
To climb to the mountain top
To succeed our dreams that was our journey
My Salvadorian blood and Guatemalan blood run through
It, came from two different locations
But ended up where the X marks the spot
The story of Salvadorians
Sometimes misconceived by racism
By la migra, by Whites, by the people
But we have proven them wrong it has been a struggle
It has been difficult but...
We look behind us and see our family
We see that we have grown in Cali and Texas
From 94,000 to 465,0003
during the 1980s to 1990s
We came for better opportunities
Education, work, better life, generations
For safety from a quake that rocked more than the nerves
We came to help and increase economies
Now when there is a problem they say
“Houston we have a problem”
There are immigrants in this area we need to clear them out
My father a fighter a hard worker a consistent father
Came for my future and the generations to come
To seek a fulfilling life

My blood also tells the story
Of Guatemalans
A past of greatness
Now a present of disrespect
From being scared of la migra, of Whites,
A journey that my mother started when she was only 9
A life of not being o.k with her situation
A life of not being sad about her fathers death
A life of fighting for a generation that will come later
A life of asking for help not saying I can't do this
She went and fought now she is living a life
That to others seemed impossible but to her
It was the life of Marina Xon Morales4
In the 1970s5
there was turmoil politically and socially
An economy going down a government getting overturned
They came to prosper to fulfill a lifelong dream
To California, Arizona
The so called American dream
that really is a real dream for an immigrant
That was Uncle Sam's way of saying welcome (for now)

IV: current reality

Now in the twenty-first century
A century where we have seen many accomplishments
Black president, a day we will never forget6
A dream team down in south beach
movements for rights7
An act that will give education to those kids without papers
The Dream Act
To me there's a reason why it is called the Dream Act
Because you need taxes and to immigrants that are
Somehow “illegal” look it up, we were here first
Primero but it seem no one knows that
By the way they teach us at school
By the fear of going back
By the fear the government gives in Arizona
Sb1070 who wrote that stupid thing
We have seen leaders the Chicano movement
I am Joaquin by Rodolfo Corky Gonzales who speaks on the rough times we have experienced
The fight for the field by Cesar Chavez
To get our labor laws to be good for we won't
Worry about the future of the home
The fights for the schools
Because we were and will fight for our rights
For work and education
We will search for whatever we can achieve and there has never
Never been a backing down on us we have always went
110% and have been given many awards
But there's still immigration reform we have to look for
And their will be an end to it
Maybe not by me
Not my neighbor
Not the kid down the street.
but in someones mind
there is an idea in someone's head
that will be approved for my people
who has lost many to the migra
to the law
to the White
I promise it

V: thinking ahead
I am proud
of my history of my blood
and whatever comes ahead
I love my culture the one with the Mayan Kings
the Inca and Pipil as well
we have showed strength and resilience
against the Spanish and everyone who came against us
we saw that we needed to search for
a future
a better life
and the idea was come to the country
that has an X which marks the spot
the US of A
it was a field of dreams for us
welcomed us with open hands
until we were no longer needed
they gave us the boot
Now we are here being put down
getting sent back
losing contact with family
having a sense of fear
but fear is not real it’s a choice
you can be worried for tomorrow
or be focused on know
like the LA school’s students
who fought for their education
the people lead by Cesar Chavez to look
for a better wage and economic standard...
now its us today
we are the future
who will need to raise the bar
go past expectations
don't be the stereotypical Latino
be more
do more
achieve more
lets speak up
discuss with others make
a change make it
significant
lets prove others wrong show we are strong
in any category
lets grow bigger in schools
in offices
in law firms
in hospitals
but not as a janitor
but as owners
advisors
top students
lawyers
paralegals
doctors nurses
we need to show we can be great like
the past leaders
and start showing we are here to
stay and succeed.

Comments

Additional Resources

Get AI Feedback on your poem

Interested in feedback on your poem? Try our AI Feedback tool.
 

 

If You Need Support

If you ever need help or support, we trust CrisisTextline.org for people dealing with depression. Text HOME to 741741