Gentle winds move
Words spoken, forever carried
Be mindful of what escapes you to have been forged in love
Blissful thoughts move in tandem with these gentle winds

Ill fated speak rises from the darkness of an evil heart
Forged in hate and envy
Baneful suppositions disturb placid winds
Blue skies depart overwhelmed by gray

Cold rain dances uncertain in quivering winds
Storms approach celebrating generous helpings of lament
Thoughts are of miscalculated omnipotence
Be mindful of what escapes you to be forged in love

I am
I am he who
As a child clung
To hope
I am he who
Knew sadness
As he who made me
Walked,     faded

I am he
He who walked through
The doors of
Public schools
To learn or
Better yet
Be force fed
The *******
That this system
Wanted me to ingest
In order to maintain
The status quo;
Another Rican
Up at the crack
Of dawn
Racing off to
Lackawana
Or even
Port Jersey Boulevard
Factory work extraordinaire
That's all they
Wanted me to know

I am
I am he
Who was never
Supposed to know
Anything other
Than the
Dingy white walls
Of a railroad
Apartment
In the brick building
That I grew up in

I am he
Who blazed
A trail of possibilities
So that my
Seed
Could fly higher
Than I

I am
A husband,
A father,
A son,
A brother,
A student
Of life
Who gives every
**** ounce
Of what makes
Me who I am
To those
I love
Only hoping
That long after
I am gone
They will
See
That I conquered
Every obstacle
That I smashed
Every stereotype
Just to prove-
I exist

I am
I am he
Who has laughed and
Has cried
He who has masked
The pain with a smile

I am he
Who keeps an
Open mind
Hoping one day
You will find
My soul
In every line
I have penned
With a tear in my eye

I am he
Who will never
Forget
From where he came;
He who will never
Cease to seek truth
At times I am weak
When I feel like
Letting go
I write and I speak
Because
I Am.......

This image so symbolic
A beacon of freedom to
All those who from afar
Have come to terms with
How beautiful and noble
It would be to
Willingly feel the
Warmth of their
Boiling blood as it spills
And fills the
Streets with a crimson sea

To die while raising a fist
Shouting out against oppression
Standing against injustice
All the while
Dreaming of freedom
Some meet their fate
With a passion in their core
A flame that burns
Into the night
Like lady liberty's torch

While some lay in those
Endless crimson street seas
Others through their sacrifices
Quietly flee under the
Cover of night's
Star spangled skies
With dry lips and tired feet

Their hopes kept warm by
Dreams of that undying flame
North-star of immigrants
Torch of lady liberty
Fuels their will to endure
An age old vision
Drawing them in
To walk the paths of
Purple mountains majesty
Only to end their journey
Listening to a
Symphony of insults

Working forty-eight
Hours a day
Fourteen days a week
A dream deceased
Fear of being cast out
Justifies their willing
Societal disappearance as
They now walk silently
Amongst the invisible

Afraid of even asking
For a helping hand
Illnesses of those
Young and old alike
Go untreated as
Acceptance of inhumanity
Becomes a singular reality
So now what of that torch
They ask themselves

Today its flame seems
A mere spark in comparison to
The wildfire burning within
The citizens, the bureaucrats, and
The politicians whom
So conveniently forgot
They too come from
A long line of immigrants
Who arrived here with the
Very same hopes and dreams
Yet they are only spoken of
When wolves in suits
Put on their brightest of smiles and
With false promises
Of immigration reform
Gather that much needed
Latino vote
Which strengthens their campaigns
Earning them a position
Of privilege as
They sit behind
Solid cherry oak desks
Leaving the immigrant
On a never ending campaign
Of tending to the fields
Laying tile, repairing roofs,
Landscaping the lawn to the
Buildings full of offices whom
Provide those very
Goods and services
That will never
Be of any benefit
To the invisible families

Their  souls run out of time
Overworked and underpaid
Marginalized and demoralized
They die silently

Silently they wither away
Looking beyond the pasture
Still believing the flame of
Lady liberty's torch
Would remember them
As it did others who
Dared risk it all
For a dream.......