Trois.

Lost in Another World.
07.14.05

Her red earth,
our unusual border town.
A city full of hunger,
of peasants,
of dusk-faced children.
We had to say our faint goodbyes,
walk away and escape
to a world that contained
none of our names, none of our faces,
but is full of power and injustices,
of stories of love and brawls,
and of limits to "undesirables."
The refrain "this is not your country" echoing
as I learn to hide in imaginative worlds
with no fear or concern.
I wish past streaks of water
to get lost in a solitary place
full of fire, of pain, of giving love,
no longer evading the boundaries,
writhe in screams intermixed with pleas to saints,
or agonize raised voices.
I would rather lose breath or lay deathly still,
but then I would slowly go back to reality,
and face the tears that never end its grief.



* This poem was an assignment for my Honors English class. We read Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A. by Luis J. Rodriguez, and we had to put together words or phrases from different chapters, and construct a poem that made sense. I know God helped me find the right words and phrases to use. Without Him, I wouldn't be able to write such a thought-provoking poem. Thank you, God :)