Eight billion people,
call this planet home.
Eight billion people,
all of them alone.

Arbitrary borders,
divide and define.
Who belongs where,
who's on which side.

Propaganda and lies,
hatred and fear,
accompany those borders.
"You're not 'From Here'".

They shout and they rant,
"Protect us from harm!
Protect us from monsters!
who work on our farms..."

Save us from humans!
That are really just the same,
but they look a little different,
or have a "funny name".

Every human is flawed,
We dig our own graves,
Eight Billion people,
Who do not want to be saved.

We have come so far,
but we have to do more,
to be better than primates,
looking for war.

Eight billion minds,
That think only of one.
And how they can prosper,
alone in their fun.

Religion and Government,
forms of control.
That tell you to fight,
for country and soul.

The heathens that march,
against the life that you made,
must be destroyed!
It's the only way!

Build us our bombs,
our weapons in space,
expand our borders,
war is a race!

Money and lead,
power and greed,
These are the things,
we are taught to need.

Complicated desires,
from animalistic wants,
pollute the whole planet,
by "draining the swamp".

We call ourselves modern,
With our dollars and glass,
but our future is as dismal,
as our most recent past.

A species divided,
is one doomed to fail.
And there's so much to lose,
with a world this frail.

Are we together?
Or alone in a crowd.
A decision must be made.
and it has to be now.

A friend asked if my mother had a brogue.
She was forty when she landed here,
She probably did. She must have.
What does a child hear?
I was accustomed to it.
I only heard her voice.
Others no doubt did. Liked the lilt.
I  heard the voice,
Not the accent.

I'm a foreigner,
In the land I was born to...
So this is real pain.

You mistake my tears for sadness,
Instead of lakes of rage

As I scream in defiance,
against the status quo

You fall in line with the masses,
And you are now my foe

Whether in opposition, or the silent approach,
You've spoken volumes, to disenfranchised folks

Is ignorance your anthem,
Or is your lack of caring a joke

Blind eyes or indifference,
Cities go up in smoke

A pattern to repeat itself,
Until false realities are broke

The time for waiting is over,
We've pulled off racism's cloak

With us or against us,
Its time the people woke.

I quit
Cause you are not worth
The sea of salted tears
That spill
Assaulting me
You are not worth
The red elixir
That feeds
Your distorted
Vampire needs

I retire
Before my will expires
Because I am tired
Of seeing spires
Of factories
Smoking pollutants
Choking all humans

I am through
With claiming
That the truth
Will set us free
When all I see
Is a bubonic plague
Festering and growing
Tumorous cities
Of infinite stupidity

I am finished
There is not enough spinach
To Popeye my way out
So I exit stage
Flesh and rage
Pull back those skin pages
That life was written on
Letting strangers carryon
As the carrions come
To devour me

Cause I am ******* done

How dare you reduce me to one race
how dare you judge me based on my birth place?
I may not be wealthy, but I am rich,
oh have I learnt that life can be a *****-
born to a Muslim father,
raised by an Orthodox mother,
but why I do I bother,
all you can do is smother
me with your negativity,
you won't understand,
that those two go well hand in hand,
I live in Slovenia, it all makes me Slavic as hell,
If you are willing to listen to the story I'm about to tell,
It all used to be one big entity
until they destroyed it, blurred my sense of identity...
So as a kid I was ashamed
'cause I didn't belong,
I couldn't be tamed,
my pride was too strong,
I was confused,
I didn't get it,
that three cultures in me were fused,
they made me hate it, regret it,
now that I'm older I can finally see,
all that **** was irrelevant, cos I am me.

In Spanish, VIVIR means To Live, the proper conjugation of which to when you say something as improper as “I live” would simply be translated to “Yo Vivo”.
I live, as a Colombian-American.
I live, as “You don’t look Hispanic”
I live, “Woah! You and your brother look nothing alike. You’re so… white.”
I live, “My mom came home once and talked about a man who simply replied with a horribly pronounced “Me gusta” when my mom said she was Hispanic.”
I live, “My dad condones abusive behavior because he thinks Latina aggression is ‘****’”
I live, my mom asking me “Would you rather celebrate the Sweet Sixteen or have a quinceanera party?”
I live, as the white boy sitting across the room in Spanish class asking “When will I need this in real life?”
I live, as the “Yes I DO have a friend with a skin complexion similar to mine, and yes, he is Hispanic.”
I live, most of my friends are beautiful people of color.
I live, when will you open up the tab in Google and search some Hispanic History to fill your mind instead of “Latina ****”?
I live, the messages on the Internet saying “You’re Hispanic? I bet you’re great in bed.”
I live, there are NO gender neutral nouns in Spanish
I live, yes I DO love coffee
I live, no it did NOT stunt my growth
I live, one kiss per cheek at family meet-ups
I live, “Eskimo” nose rubs
I live, "if you’re hispanic, why aren’t your ears pierced?"
I live, being expected to remember Spanish just because it was my first language, but growing up with an American dad made me whiter than fresh bed-sheets sold in America, made in South America, Hecha en Peru.
I live, my mom breaking into tears as she is so proud that I can sing in Spanish
I live, my mom used to be so embarrassed, when I replied “un poco” to her friends asking “Tu Hablas Espanol?”
I live, "if you’re Hispanic, is your mom an Alien?"
I live, "But your dad looks so white!"
I live, being subject to racism hidden in a joke, hidden in a remark about how pale I am, hidden behind a judgmental look, hidden behind a scoff, a laugh, a pity shrug, a fetishized assumption.
I live the bulletproof clothing and horrible crimes I am warned about when I say I wanna go to Colombia I wanna go to my mom’s home.
I live, as a Colombian-American.
I live.
Yo vivo.