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Friday, July 20, 2018

AMERICA BREAKS

a modified abecedarian by Susan Vespoli



"Javiar" 8 yrs old from Honduras. Detained since Feb. Still in custody in a Texas Detention center. Drawing by Billy Burgos on Facebook, July 11, 2018.


America                                               
breaks
babies from                                         
crying mothers we
call criminals,                                      
drags them
down to                                               
encampments for
early agers:                                          
frightened,
forsaken, sobbing behind                    
gates.
Guards, ordered not to                        
hug them,
hold them till their turn                       
in immigration court. Pleas of
“I want to go home” entered to          
judges. Justice?
Juveniles,                                            
kindergartners, toddlers
kind of                                                 
like your kid and mine who we
love, kiss,                                            
nestle, protect from
nightmares of                                      
ogres who steal
offspring from                                     
parents who tried to become
part of a nation that                             
quietly se-
questers children,                                
rounds them up
right outside our doors as we             
sip our coffee, read
stories to our own. Let’s                     
take a look at ourselves and
try to                                                   
understand our part in this:
“us” in the U.S.                                   
vexed and perplexed that a
village of children                               
were locked up. Let us unite into a
wall of votes to                                   
X out the reign of this
x-reality star who                                
yammers piss, twitters
yuk. Let us join together to                 
zip him up.


Susan Vespoli lives in Arizona, has an MFA from Antioch University, and has published poetry and prose in a number of online and print journals.