A Better Nation

Un poco mejor

La esperanza me

Motiva a soñar

Mejores sueños

Not dreams, actually

But rather idealize

A better nation

I have a sigh of relief

Yet I await, espero

Las palabras

Que adornan

Los sentimientos

De justicia, democracia y paz

Still waiting for the

Words that normalize

A just society

That breaks down

The centuries of

Deep rooted oppression

Steeped in genocide

Land theft, slavery

Exploitation and brutality

…Esas palabras

Las palabras que cantan

Bonitas canciones

Sobre la dignidad y la humanidad

Songs of freedom and love

Acknowledging human dignity

Of all people

Renaming police to

No longer be murderers

Of Black, Brown and Native people

People…human beings

Awaiting words that end poverty,

Homelessness and illnesses

Espero las palabras

Que reconocen nuestra humanidad

Not leaving us as afterthoughts

Forgotten in cages and fields, and

Gardens, restaurants and hotels

Recognizing that our potential

Is wrapped and smothered

In a red, white and blue flag

Waiting to be released

Eso es lo que yo quiero

Vivir en una nación donde

Toda la gente vale

The road for most of us

Is still an arduous climb

A rocky, sometimes dangerous ascent

Full of treacherous obstacles

Hurling verses, with bullets and

Bombs blockading the path

To a better nation

But we still climb