rust erodes from the waves roiling against it,
kids who throw themselves into the surf chirping like happy crows
y vendedores de helado desesperados pero felices: hawks looking for scraps
the wall says: leave; aliens; pests–
but the people write: reunify; love trumps hate; empathy—
un futuro para creer en,
painted over and over and over the hate
the waves cringe as they lap against the steel,
sensing their dual identity of alien and citizen,
unnerved by the conflict and their inescapable involvement
and the US commands, as it always does:
here! look upon our world war bunkers,
our blinding lights watching you like criminals—
you are criminals: on any side of this wall
we will disregard your selves, passing above, around, under,
and watch with contempt as your children play on see-saws,
connected across the house-of-cards wall
this wall must hold our fragile legacy,
so we will grimace when you care for each other,
and laugh when you fight,
and hurt you, and watch you die,
and sit back,
and smile
and we don’t know that you and your people
will fight and cry and fight again,
and gather allies and anger across borders,
and cover the wall in joy and protest,
and smile
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