By Bob Held, VAN Contributor
We’re told:
About refugees
Coming to the U.S.
And Europe.
With their diseases
Crimes, insanity.
Raping our women,
Eating our puppies,
Taking our jobs.
Displacing us,
They are vermin.
Keep them out!
Protect the real Americans,
The Germans, the French, the Swedes.
KEEP US PURE!!!
Well, here’s how I see it:
These are people who are
Fleeing for their lives,
Seeking to escape poverty, famine,
Gang violence, war, tyranny.
Ready to work hard at jobs
That no one else wants.
Harvesting our food,
Cleaning up our messes
Mowing our pristine lawns.
They are the people
Almost all of us are descended from.
They bring us strength.
Like us, they are human beings.
And some day,
You, or maybe your children or grandchildren
May need to flee.
Who will welcome and embrace you?
What did you do when people were knocking
Desperately at our door?
Might not people say to us:
“You Americans, fleeing your own chaos
Seeking sanctuary
Do not expect the kindness
That you denied to others.”
Displacement may be a problem faced today
By some people. Tomorrow by others.
Maybe us.
This is a problem that all of humanity faces.
And all humanity must step in to help.
This Micro-Essay in Verse, On Immigration, is an edited excerpt from Bob Held’s Substack at bobheld63@substack.com