NDLON

BANNED AND BOXED UP POEM

by Francisco X. Alarcón

this poem has

indigenous features

and a brown skin

like Mother Earth

always will be under

“reasonable suspicion”

this poem roams

the open desert before

any barbed wire

it runs tumultuous

like a creek after

a monsoon rain

this poem breathes

the air free of charge

like a cloud in the sky

it has no need

for any legal papers

because is borderless

this poem doesn’t

believe in any imposed

mythical melting pot

it dreams the dreams

of the Native American

and Chicano/a authors

whose books were taken

away from classrooms

and boxed up in Tucson

this poem is breaking

away from these boxes

and joining in walkouts—

truth, tolerance, courage

will overcome no doubt

lies, fear, and silence