Poem: The Sign

I felt tears coming forth telling me that I'm trash

Bringing my emotion to hit the floor in a splash

I felt it at the hands of too many men

Trust broken, I crawl to a light at the very end

I have felt my heart smash upon my memories

But it forever burns to ashes in my dad's stories

"No dogs, no Mexicans" a sign

A window to a different place and another time

I hear mi abuelita tell me with pride about me

Words on who I am stories of this proud family

I almost forgot the stories of a sign

Stories that torched my heart and burnt my mind

The dignity in my blood flowing through time

The disgrace of this dark eyed face of mine

A shame that I bury myself in

A shame becomes betrayal, the biggest sin

But I am not just mi abuelita but I am me

I am more than my dad's daughter yet never free

Until I finally smash that sign

I won't be free until I burn the border I'm behind

But I will never be able to be my totality

While my definition is just my family

When modesty is on the sign

The fight is still about me, it is still mine

Because I'm not mi familia or mi raza

I'm not my pain nor am I my trauma

I sure ain't that sign

I am all my love and I am my mind