I Am Veronica

The title explains everything, seriously. This took me about two and a half weeks to write and I am very thankful to be finished with it!! Jaja, I hope you enjoy!

My ancestors - The aztec

 

Ignacio Zaragoza

 

Frida Kahlo

 

 

I Am Veronica

 

As a young girl, she had no problems

As a young Mexican girl, she had struggles

Growing up in Detroit city

Her brother brought home trouble

Most nights there would be gunshots –

Pandillas    /Gangs

So most nights she would duck down,

Cradled in her father’s or mother’s arms

Huddled near a wall or corner

There needed to be a change, a move

To another city – one that was much smaller

She started school there

Kindergarten…

In a school where the majority of kids were white

Her parents thought it would be better for her

Rather than the school near her new home

She arrived in the room filled with strangers

Walking around aimlessly sensing there was danger

But…there was none

They welcomed her as if she was one of them,

A smile was carved on her face

Until later, she was threatened

“I’ll have my daddy come shoot you AND your dad!”

The young girl had never been so frightened in her life…

She had done nothing wrong

You couldn’t blame her if you wanted to

It wasn’t her fault that her skin was brown

Continuing through grade school, she rarely had problems

With the exception of this boy in 5^th to 6^th grade

Even though he called her ‘s**t’ she still stayed

Although it wasn’t by choice

To others, small worlds like ‘s**t’ may not seem harmful

But they are

Some may not admit they are hurt, but inside there is burning

Burning pain and tears – never to be shed

Apart from the company of one’s self

You shouldn’t worry, there’s still junior high

Teachers would watch her

Through inquiring eyes

Trying to figure out how she kept her grades

Up to A’s and B’s

Come on, she was a minority for Christ sakes!

She shouldn’t be doing so well

Surprise blew across her face when she went to school

No one bothered her

Sure there were little remarks here & there

Little inequalities from other students in class

She’s heard them so much and been through it time and again

But hey!  She was accustomed to it

Junior high was pretty nice…

High school

Yet another step up; things were going so well

Until swine flu broke through

“Damn Mexicans!”

                        “Look, there’s one over there.  Run!!”

            “Hey!  Veronica’s Mexican!  Watch out!”

                                    “F*****g spicks…”

           “…All they do is sleep anyway…lazy w******s”

                  “Blame her!  She’s one of them!”

Flying down the halls hearing at least 8 at a time

Some directed upon her, others on all of them

There was AN UPROAR of racism

She knew that racism was still around

But she had no idea that it was still the same

The same from decades ago

So, little brownie paced through the hallways

Books clutched to her chest

A proud look on her face

Her head held as high as the ceiling

Eyes roaming over all those who stared

Never looking away

Staring back with more force than the white ones

“Yes, you know who I am

And now…I know who you are”

She wasn’t going to be scared and look at the ground

For the first time in a while, her strength held on

The words that once made her want to strike

With a power never known before

Would not be recognized any longer

The cold stares that used to make her skin crawl

Would be expunged and forgotten

Porque ella es quien ella es     /Because she is who she is

Y que no va a cambiar     /And that will not change

Ella es y sera siempre marron     /She is and will always be brown

 

Pancho Villa y Emiliano Zapata

 

Viva Mexico!  Viva La Raza!  Y yo siempre sera Veronica Christine Juanita Hernandez!  Plena de sangre mexicana!

 

/Long live Mexico!  Long live the race!  And I will always be Veronica Christine Juanita Hernandez! Full-blooded Mexican!

 

Benito Juarez

 

Author's Note

Don't be a grammar nazi. The words are what really matter. :D

Reviews

[Dini]

Possibly my favourite of yours so far. Your message was powerful, and the use of photos, font size and colour was clever. I'm Indian, and I've never been racially discriminated (I go to the most racially diverse school in my state!) so this poem came as a shock. I cannot believe racism of this kind still exists! Thank you for bringing awareness and I know you have become an inspiration to many.

Well done!

[odhiambo]

honest

[Satellite Heart]

That was amazing. It's hard to escape from the judgmental world, thanx for writing this poem, i know a lot of people who need to hear it. You are an inspiration, always have pride in that, and thats what you will be remembered for. Bravo!!!

[L.V. Ana]

The words are beautiful, and they are very powerful.

[Bud]

You are what really matters. This piece is only an expression and recording of the manifestation of your thoughts and feelings. As long as there are ignorant people in this world, sadly, there will be racism. As I am certain that you are, you should be most proud of this piece of artistic bibliographic record. Nothing short of Astonishing, Excellent, Outstanding and Inspirational! I applaud you!

[Tallulah]

This was amazing. I found this really relateable because of a lot things. My name is also Veronica. Imm not Mexican, I'm Puerto Rican but we still get treated the same way as your poem explains and I'm going through a lot of the same things you went through. this was very inspirational. We always have to be strong. No matter what God puts us through. THis gave me a lot of strenght. Thank you so much for this great piece.

[closed account]

This was amazing, what a powerful message I understand all too well
It really is sad that I am hearing this poem from such a young age cause
it just shows that racism still exists?? but the strength behind the
words from you show how far (our little brownies have come)??
back in the day? the (brownie) would curl up and hide, but you
speak with such confidence, maturity and determination of your worth
and who you are!!! that my friend is the sweetest revenge on any hater
of any kind.. This was brilliant and masterful!!

[Winter McPherson]

This is such a powerful piece! You've really poured your heart out here. Bravo! I'm so sorry you've faced such ugliness. But admire your determination to not let it push you down. It's always shocking to find out the truth of humanity. Thank you for having the courage to share this.

[hola amigo's/amiga's]

It's really sad that the one country that is a melting pot of so many beautiful cultures has so many racially challenged inhabitants. Everyone bleeds the same no matter what color their skin maybe. Truth always comes out of the mouth of babes. I love your pride! Thank you for sharing this piece. In matter of fact I luv mexican boys i dont like black or white boys they seem to get me introuble alot and that doesnt seem feer to me. Im a white girl and get treated no better than what u got treated. It's real hard forme to find any frinds or even any boyfriends either. The school that I go to now has all ingrant people in there, they have nothing better to do than sit there and make fun of me which i dont really appreciate. I wish i was out there with u and getting to know u and your family more better and try to talk to ur brorher to stay out of trouble so can u do me a favor of adding me to ur friend list and reading my stuff to thanks i woul really appreciate it alot.

[BluesForTheRisingSun]

I love your pride and confidence, its refreshing. People should be as proud of who they are as you are, because you're truly inspiring. I enjoyed reading this, it was excellent!