America, U.S. and Them (Eduardo's America)

My ex is from Oaxaca and since it is on my mind, here is the poem I wrote after he got deported.



They were singing for America
Crying out for America
Eating, dying, dreaming of America
Pledging allegiance to an indivisible nation
Hands over heart
stars and stripes so blinding
in the light of
Mourning
the loss of
the illusion of sanctuary
the death of
a nation comatose with amnesia
because finally
we were witnesses
to something
we
would
NEVER
Forget
(never forget…)
Ash and rubble burnt into retinas
the empty space in a skyline
stars and stripes so blinding
in the darkest night
of our country’s own
desecration.
But from the ashes rose a fear
and from this fear
emerged a creation
a new brand of Other
(other, other…)
a thickening of borders between
us and them
U.S. and Them
Them, They, Those People
Them, They, Those People
Them, They, Those Foreigners
Those Terrorists
And who could dismiss
the truths
that were
self evident
that They had committed
The Crime
They, Them Those
faceless amorphous Terrorists
They, Them, Those Foreigners
And us, we, you and me,
A nation of Americans
blind in our grieving
never forgetting what
They had done
never remembering
that innocence was not a nationality
that even the pilgrims
were immigrants
singing for America
crying out for America
eating, dying, dreaming of America
Pledging allegiance to a nation indivisible
Hands over broken hearts…
Could I be the same?
Stand and say the pledge I know by heart
the way I stood and said my last goodbyes to him
hand pressed against the glass against his hand
bitter tears for a lover
who was not
the right kind of American
wrong color, wrong accent, wrong papers,
wrong place at the wrong time
wrong to think that
freedom and justice
were rights – that in America- couldn’t be denied.
How long?
How long did we stand in that line?
…to see our friends and families
one last time
in America….
Our fathers, mothers, lovers, cousins, sisters, and brothers
They, Them, Those People
Are PEOPLE
OUR People
locked in glass cages
numbered criminals
disappeared for the sake of
a nation deeply divided
a people ambivalent
and undecided
complicit and complacent
entirely too damn patient
when it’s clear
THIS
ISN’T
WORKING
Remember when WE were singing for America?
Crying out for America?
Marching in the streets
Hands over hearts
Pledging our lives to the struggle
To make this America
OUR America
A place worth singing for…