Mi Raza
Where were you when
my father decided to move
to a neighborhood that had better schools?
Where were you when I peeked out the window
and saw no one like me, just glazed blue
eyes minus the Afro?
Where were you when I was arrested
under a blue sky?
My crime? Sitting outside my home, eating
a moon pie.
I was held under arrest for loitering
on my own fathers steps.
That beautiful red castle, bought with
the sweat of my dad. He was bold to
have those visions of the American dream.
No picket fence, but plenty of geraniums
mimicking and small flamboyans swaying.
Our neighbors greeted us with looks
of scorn. Spic, go home."
Edmee Cappas-Velez
The Neighborhood Writing Alliance (NWA) provokes dialogue and promotes
change by creating opportunities for adults in low-income Chicago neighborhoods
to write, publish, and perform works about their lives. These works are published
in the award-winning Journal of Ordinary Thought.
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