i speak
i speak this poem for you
these words to give release from
watching my mother too sick to walk
but still goes to work
scared to get fired,
her tongue stumbling on words she can’t pronounce
scared because without this job she can’t get the doctor visits
she needs so desperately
her kidneys failing her body, her heart, her spirit
it’s hard for her to walk now
her cries of pain when her feet kisses the floor
her feet refusing to comply to her will
i don’t know what to do now
doctor visits yielding no relief
each time we go it gets harder
finding some new disease eating her body without remorse
eating away her strength, her will, her smile
leaving suffering, pain, and fear in her heart
she no longer laughs
i speak for my father
who wakes up at 3am everyday
just so he can make it to work by 4
bending his back carrying boxes for 12 hours a day
seeing the cracks in his hands
and how my tears can run through them like a river
his far-off stares taking him back home
to heat so dense you can take a shower in it
to food so pungent it wakes up your inner self
to trees so tall you can touch the sky just by climbing it
his cigarettes light his journey back
each puff a new memory
each pack an obsession
i speak for them
i speak for me
i speak because no one else can
because no one else will
i speak because healthcare is a failing priority
dropping like my mother’s blood count
i speak because a living wage is not talked about
silent like my father when racist fuckers spit misstep words back in his face
i speak because my anger is too much for my 5’4 body
anger so deep that my bones scream
anger so red that only the blood of Nanking rapes can portray
anger so full that i can only cry
i speak because
because
because
because
beCAUSE!
