Bravery

i have to be brave. all the time. every day.

as i sit in class with my friends giggling around me

i hold back tears while reading the consistent ICE headlines

i refuse to be ignorant, but i am shaken to my core

i fear the day i come back to an empty house that no longer feels like a home

i have nightmares of my mom being the one harassed and shot in the face 

i sit and ponder about what excuse i can make for the heritage my mother’s last name and ethnic features carry

our ancestry is important, but the burden is heavy

i am proud of where i come from, but i am afraid someone believes that is the ONLY

place i belong

i am afraid that my father will be stripped from the country he bravely served, one he is not even from

one he has poured his heart and soul into

the same one that believes he doesn’t belong

that he is dirty and an alien

the same one that doesn’t see that he feeds hungry families twice a month 

the same one that wants to starve us of our dreams and achievements 

this is the same country that swears life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to ALL

but i can not be happy in a country that hates me

i can not pursue anything except safe shelter

in the land of the free and the home of the brave