“after the dream act is revoked” by Rebecca Foust (poetry, ’10)

An excerpt from “after the dream act is revoked” by Rebecca Foust (poetry, ’10) published at The Humanist:

 

after the dream act is revoked

it’s time to get my hair cut again & the dream act
just got rolled back      what can i do
get in the car    keep the appointment
preserve etiquette        the economy        routine
so stupid        stupid        stupid        what can i do
pick fruit for a pie      sweep the floor
feed the dog        call my reps        send emails
knit a pink hat        go to a march         write this dumb poem
phone my kids who I can reasonably assume
will not get shot going out for milk        or sling-shot
back to a country that vomited them up
in fire & thirst & dismemberment
to land here with no guarantees
but what it says in the constitution        oh        right

that applies only to        “citizens”
& those the law defines as        “persons”
such as some corporations        but not to all human beings
& as per the 3/5 clause and Dred Scott       does not even
always recognize all 5/5 of each human being         oh         right
that what’s-a-person thing is a very vexing question   […continue reading here]