“The Cry of the Latin People” a Poem
In Mrs. Heefner’s English 12 class, she asked her students to write a poem about what they stand for in this world. One of her students wrote this poem, which is written here with the student’s permission.
“The Cry of the Latin People”
I am a Latino and my heart is destrozado.
I think of Mexico and how they will build a wall
to keep out the hardest working of us all.
What should I do?
Sit down and listen to my neighbor’s children cry?
As for my Puerto Rican brothers and sisters,
do you ever get tired of just telling people that we are also American citizens?
Or of how they treat us because we are not from the mainland?
Are we not supposed to be the country of unity?
Para todos mis amigos de Colombia
People don’t recognize you as one of the biggest producers
of coffee, spices, gold, and emeralds!
They forget about who you are
and instead call you drug dealers.
As I share the pain,
I know from my own skin that we have to support each other
We must fight discrimination
for speaking Spanish,
for playing our music loud,
and for celebrating everything!
The only way to win this battle is to never change who you are
Y SIMPRE SE ORGULLOSO!
— Anonymous
