Art/Poetry
POEMS
Behind the Mask
by gerald e. poyo
Even behind the mask
brown skin and dark eyes
give him away.
Were he white,
the irony would disappear.
Does he kidnap unsuspecting Latinos
off the city streets or pisca fields
without cause or due process
to feed his family?
Just doing his job?
Loyal to the system;
his options are few?
Or, feels an urgency
to prove himself
in a country that never
much cared for him?
Maybe a need to identify
with descendants of
European immigrants
who claim they arrived legally—
not illegal aliens.
Ethnic and racial solidarity
Are not for him?
Or, a more mundane purpose:
to collect a bounty
for the latest device that deflects
ethical considerations.
It’s hard to know or even judge
in a universal way.
The masked man fidgets,
with his buddies scan the area.
His clothes do not betray:
no name, no stinking badge, no nothing.
ICE, border patrol, DEA?
At least the National Guard is distinguishable.
Perhaps none of the above;
instead, a secret police—Gestapo-like.
Watching from her classroom window,
Elena, also brown with beautiful eyes
full of enthusiasm for life and learning,
excited on her first day of class,
sees the masked agent with a man,
of color like himself,
having just left his child at school.
Elena gasps, “Dios Mio” she exclaims,
then screams with terror;
they drag her resistant father away.
Whatever the masked man’s reasons,
the pain, consequences, and
perhaps even guilt,
for all concerned are the same.
Ominous Sestet
By gerald e poyo
A wintry freezing ICE-age pall
Descending upon a Texas summer
Like the savage rinches lore
Sowing terror on weak and poor
With hatred-filled ferocity
Spreads pain without regret
Surviving such repression now
Demands hard action of every kind
Infusing resistance day-in-day-out
Watchful eyes and streetwise motions
Alerting those in frightened hiding
Against the cold ICE emanates
Denouncing tramposo at every turn
Tic-tok, blogs, u-tube in turn
Birth essays, art, song, and film
In hopes of reaching people’s souls
Offering succor to those exposed
Affirms the struggle for dignity
Today’s awakenings may be too late
Deporting migrants is but the start:
Dismantled structures, constant lies
Distorted elections, racist tropes
Rising caudillos, cold and mean
Occupying cities, guards with guns
Stepping away from rule of law
Unwitting citizens face their fate
If winter’s extremes win the day
Fascist control we’ll surely see
Peaceable responses will have their limits
Protecting freedom will be the key
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