Poem
February arrives, and the air is thick with red,
A commercial wave of romance, gently fed.
They peddle the paper hearts, the chocolate-cliché,
A national command to love in different ways.
I am Texan, born of stolen soil, a land they sought to tame,
Where freedom is a lease signed over only in name.
The segregation never died, it keeps the hatred bound,
Just as the paper hearts are scattered on the ground.
Like a neighbor with a gun, breaking in at dawn.
"I love you, neighbor, but clean the house, and be gone
The moment I have entered and have claimed the space.”
That is the empty message, the conditional embrace.
The scar of a stolen land is the border wall.
No liberty is left, no justice for us all.
I look at the flag, the one I pledged with pride,
But now I watch the colors fade and divide.
A civil injustice; the fabric is torn in two.
A war of shadows between Red and the Blue,
Yet the white thread prospers, leaving justice frail,
As Lady Justice tips the scale.
I am a veteran, yet my voice begins to fail.
Silenced by the hypocrisy I see prevail.
My useless hand drops from the heart that used to beat
To the rhythm of a pledge now twisted by deceit.
Mi madre lleva sus papeles like a crown,
She never read the history where the lessons drowned.
Scrubbed from the textbooks, the battles that were lost,
Es mi compa who betrays the cause, whatever the cost.
A nopal rooted deep yet turning sickly white.
It is the cochineal that feeds, it is a parasite.
Chupando la vida del nopal, soon it will die,
Es mi carnal, the blind, who drain the cactus dry.
Es mi raza who says “I love you, but I care for you not.”
As if capitalism forces 'love' for Valentine.
Postscript
The header banner is an original painting, inspired by a real historical segregation sign. The sign's original location and year have been preserved to anchor the context of the poem, while its text has been altered to highlight the poem's theme. The original sign contained one additional phrase that was omitted in this adaptation.
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