La Libertad Está Aquí
Mi mamá, she works hard for us
4’9 but a giant staring down the face of imperialism
She uses her body as a shield
To protect me from those who wish to cause harm to my brown body —
Tear me into pieces and tell me I am nothing
That my existence is only worth acknowledging when it feeds the mouths of your trigger happy sons and Eurocentric feminist “wHaT’s iNtErSeCtIoNaLitY?” daughters
The new generation
A discreet but invasive species
Take the torch proudly
Eager to continue the exploitation of my being
In their new found progressive ways
But wait —
I thought a white person’s favorite phrase was
“Honey, treat others the way you want to be treated.”
You see, all they got from that was other
To them I am just other
An insignificant shell of a human only to be used as a commodity —
Placed on a shelf as a prize
Congratulations, you won first prize in the category of:
Best Dehumanizer
Best Xenophobe
Best Bystander
Most Racist
And Most Inhumane
Are you happy now?
Your superiority shelf is full of brown bodies
My ancestors
You use as trophies
Please tell me,
How does that double life feel?
Calling on god to protect those mass amounts of food on your table and that glamorous roof over your head
The food my people nurture and bring to life
The roof my people built, brick by brick
Keep those blessings coming, you tell god
As you projectile vomit prayers of love and forgiveness
All while you squeeze the life out of my brothers and sisters in between your unholy book of prayers
I am free —
No, I am not going back to the land you left stripped of all colors but red
Where the echoes of my people screaming still rings in my ear
I am going home
A la casa de mi mamá
To remove the shield off her tired body onto mine
Prepared to fight the battle of survival versus the glorious act of living
It ends here
It ends with me
The 5’3 brown girl
But I am not alone
I stand hand in hand with my brothers and sisters
Dándonos la paz
As we march to reclaim our freedom
Are you frightened?
You should be.
Preparense, porque la libertad está aquí.
Linda Brito is a researcher, community organizer, and editor for Up, Up with Liberation! Find her writing poems at your local mom and pop coffee shop or ascending mountains at the nearest national park.
Cover image by Linda Brito. 2020.
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