Diosa Xochiquetzalcoatl
A Land Where the Brave Have Never Truly Been Free
Some people say that there is no room for abortion in this country,
that “we” are a “God-fearing nation”
that would NEVER endanger a child.
THIS, the same country that stripped children
away from their families,
their languages, their cultures.
THIS, the same country that gloats of religious freedom
while strategically dismantling the spiritual posterity
of the original inhabitants’ future generations.
THIS, the same country that shipped
little boys and girls off to boarding schools
thousands of miles away from home,
schools designed to
“kill the Indian, save the man.”
THIS, the same country that did,
in fact, kill
“One little, two little, three little Indians...”
with a count that has never ceased.
THIS, the same country that boasts of a
Statue of Liberty who
“lifts (her) lamp beside the Golden Door.”
Yet as Shakespeare warns:
“All that glitters is not gold.”
THIS, the same country whose golden door
is but a mere steel gate,
entryway and terminal to endless rows of cages
atop I.C.E.-cold slabs of cement and dirt floors.
THIS, the same country holding hostage
“huddled (brown) masses
(wrapped in foil blankets)
yearning to be free.”
THIS, the same country that claims to be
the “land of the free, home of the brave.”
THIS, a land where the brave have never truly been free.
Previously published in West of the Santa Ana and Other Sacred Places, Riot of Roses Publishing, 2023.
Reflection Questions:
Where have you noticed differences between the "story" of the U.S. and the reality of our country?
What does being "free" mean to you?
Diosa Xochiquetzalcóatl is a multilingual and multidimensional spoken word artist, workshop facilitator, and international poetiza. She is a seasoned language arts educator with a BA in English and a master of Education in Cross-Cultural Teaching. Diosa X is currently serving as a board member for Círculo de poetas and Writers, works as a Poet-Teacher with California Poets in the Schools, and is a workshop presenter for Palabras del Pueblo. She has been published in a variety of anthologies and literary magazines in the U.S., Mexico, and Brazil. Diosa X is the author of seven poetry collections and one chapbook, with many more projects underway. To learn more, feel free to visit her website at www.diosax.net.
