[Poem] Under Shadows of . . .

By Salvador Reza
Under shadows of fear I work construction.
Under shadows of shame my kids hide their status.
Under shadows of losing my job I use fake papers.
I don’t speak against poor education, my kids are targeted.
I want to elect caring school administrators but I can’t vote.
I want to be counted but I am discounted.
My Spanish is ridiculed and my Nahuatl erased.
I work but my quality of life is slave-like.
No, it’s not the Mexico of early 1500s.
It’s today on the streets of Phoenix.