my mom has never had to have.
Despite adopting two brown kids,
she’ll never fully understand.
How do I tell her that blue uniforms
are a source for nervous hands?
That passing those in MAGA hats
are cause for nervous glance?
The times we watch the nightly news
and she hears the words: “I can’t breathe”,
she only hears Eric Garner’s voice.
My mom does not hear me.
How can I explain the pain that I feel
from the anthem, “Build The Wall”?
That even though I’m a citizen,
I still suffer the hate of it all?
And when we watch the nightly news,
and El Paso clips fill our screen,
she quickly changes the channel so that
my mom does not see me.
She doesn’t feel uncomfortable
walking past police.
She doesn’t feel eyes bore into her
when discussing diversity.
She doesn’t wince at confederate flags
or anti-immigrant speech.
She doesn’t ever watch the news
and think, that could’ve been me.
Adopted from Guatemala, Claire Riddell grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. She is currently a junior with a double major in Psychology and English Creative Writing.