Dear IxChel,
Dear Quetzalcoatl, October 23, 2015
We are becoming a
world of refugees,
immigrants, following the
ancient human trade
routes, not guided by
dreams this time, but
guided by poverty, war,
simple hunger, the
fierce desire that our
children survive us,
we follow that fierce
instinct over man made
borders, Madre Africa,
our Human Womb, dreams
her children in drought,
flood, tidal wave, hunger,
war. See that Mexican
mother, baby in her arms,
older children surrounding
her, she is your
mother. See that Syrian
father, clutching his toddler,
wife lost at sea, he
is your father. See
that Congolese grandmother
starving, tortured, her
sons gone to war, rape,
she is your grandmother.
See that Guatemalan
grandfather weeping, watching
his 12 year old granddaughter
raped, los coyotes,
journey to the USA, safety,
land of daily food, he
is your grandfather.
See the five year old trying
to sleep with hunger, Land
Of Plenty USA, one in four
children hungry, she
is your child.
See the teens at Rikers
Island thousands, millions
in adult prisons USA,
at Rikers their once a day
outdoors, hour at
dawn, rain, sun, snow,
in a cage, shackled,
solitary for months,
the teenage brain/mind/spirit,
the time of unfolding,
crushed, human promise
murdered, these are your
teens, these are your
teens, these are your
teens, these are our
teens, murdered promise.
See us all fiercely crossing
borders, the ancient
human trade routes,
survival. Wherever
you are
welcome
your family
home.
**The USA has the largest, for profit,
prison system in the world. At Rikers Island
the majority of teens are held for years, waiting
for a 'court date,' as families cannot post their
bail. Google Kalief Browder, who refused to
plead guilty- the usual way out of Rikers- he
refused, that immense courage.
Alma Luz Villanueva (c)
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
(My 'Dear World' poems are in their
20th year, where I bitch, moan, praise.)
They can be found in my books, most
recently, 'GRACIAS.'
www.almaluzvillanueva.com
