Secret Shame
Location
3530 W. Evans Ave
United States
39° 40' 42.114" N, 105° 2' 1.4208" W
See map: Google Maps
I am an immigrant
Or so they tell me.
I don’t feel different,
Like an alien.
Yet I am an outsider
Looking in.
I am afraid to do anything
Apply anywhere
For fear of rejection.
It is not me
A country I have never known.
What did I do?
Why am I any different?
Is it my color?
I hardly feel it.
Is it my accent?
I hardly hear it.
But every day that word haunts me
IMMIGRANT
That which does not belong
Foreigner in my own home
The word alone makes me cry
And it hurts.
Not many know,
My secret shame.
IMMIGRANT
I don’t hide behind it
I am smothered by it.
It is my personal demon
One I can’t fight.
Intangible, untouchable
All consuming
IMMIGRANT
Poetry Slam: