Them

Anthony Flores

 

I am the product of society.

I will fill the shoes that they want me to.

A fake smile for a job that I hate.  Wow,

I'm ten minutes late.  Now,

They're all in my face.

And in the moment it feels like the last straw,

But it's still I who ends up lowering his head.

I could feel the tension in my jaw,

As I bite down and think that it's my fault to begin with.

 

I am the product of the system.

I pledge to the country that turns its head to my people.

For retribution it simply said "seperate but equal,"

But "equal" wasn't equal, and people with pigment weren't people.

And although the law changed it seems the views weren't so quick to,

Because they tell me to "go home" and call me a "spic", too.

They call it only teasing and it has no real meaning,

And somehow I accept that as though it's a real reason.

But how could a border-hopping, tree-climbing, drug dealer like me,

go against the flock, when I myself am a sheep?

 

I am the product of teen angst.

The thought of growing up makes me sick to my stomach.

It's like im reaching for the surface but my body just plummets.

I'm sinking deeper and deeper.

Faster and faster.

I can't even breathe, it's like my lungs are filled with plaster.

Skin is made of paper.

Blood made of cement.

Depression and Anxiety seem to be my only friends.

They're the only ones that told me they'll stay by me 'til the end.

They're the ones that introduced me to Suicide, but then...

 

They told me that they need me, I am the product of love.

They clothe me and they feed me, I am the product of support.

She sacrificed and hurt for me when I thought no one would,

I am the product of her.

He took us in when we had no one,

I am the product of him.

She looks at me as her protector when I thought I couldn't even save myself,

I am the product of her.

He looked up to me when all I could do was look down on myself,

I am the product of him.

They showed me love.

I am the product of them.