Mom was the color of white sand
You were the color of the earth
When it came to my skin
I was reflection of her
But when I wrinkled my face
A smile or a frown
I was a mirror image of you
As time went on I noticed
How differently you were treated
I never understood why
Until I grew up and realized
You were unable to do what the rest of us did
Camouflage
It broke my heart in two
As I grew I made a decision
To become radiant enough
To blind those who
Would look upon you with distaste
And so I began
Turning my clenched fists into polite words
Turning my angry tears into charming smiles
Turning your broken words into poetry
I planted a seed of doubt
Made them question what they saw
And what can't be explained
Fades into the background
And it was in this way way
That I protected you
Like you always have me
But no matter how much time passed
When we are alone
In the fortress of our home
Your scars still make my blood boil
The words they used against you
The ones you so casually brush off
Make me see red
And through your face which is so much like mine
I am reminded time and time again
That when I bleed, it's brown

I don't like
To talk about the day
They took you away
Because that ****
Hurt
But it happened
Heart ripped from my chest
A scar, still not healed
Pain
Never really knew it
Until that day
The look in my mother's eyes
Haunting
The questions asking where you were
Crushing
The unknown
Suffocating
I was drowning
No air in my lungs
The seconds passed in years
As I wondered
Would I ever see you again
The day they took you away
****** me up
I'm tired of burying it
I want to shout it
So give me a pen
And let my screams be heard

Writing a poem for you
Is difficult—
Putting 10 years into words,
Would fill an entire book.
So how do I fit it into a poem?
When I could write
A hundred verses on your smile,
That brightens my day,
A thousand verses
On your laughter,
That makes my heart glow.
A million verses on your soul,
That was meant to find mine.
Writing a poem for you
Is difficult,
Because you are
The biggest piece of my world.

Every month
The drops of blood
Ache
As I'm reminded
I'm not a mom

Working for money is such a drag
When I would rather be
Dropping lines
About the earth, the sky and stars
Instead I grind
Becoming too exhausted
Too clouded
To put pen to paper
To appreciate all the colors
Of this existence
Working for money is such a drag
When my soul is begging for more

You held me when I was small
Told me
"You're safe now"
But when I grew older
You didn't let me go outside
"If you leave, you can't come back"
For the first time I looked around
And I realized
I was a bird inside a golden cage

- Immigrant

The mountains
The forests
And the oceans
Will never replace
The feeling of home
You bring me

-I'll come back

Even now
I wonder
What it will feel like
To let go of your hand
And fly

- Freedom is near