by ALYSSA

Verdammt Dich!
I’m sorry,
but I’d rather not argue
with some one half of my IQ.
The way I fight,
you’re guaranteed to lose.
It’s a battle of wits,
but you came unarmed.
When this conversation started,
no one meant you any harm.

We came to talk about school,
but then you came in,
because you thought you were cool;
Guess what:
you’re not smart.
I’m sorry; ‘s that your ignorance showing?
Don’t even start.
You’ve got stereotypes down to a fine art,
and on behalf
of all the people you claimed were represented,
I apologize for this daft,
rude,
lowlife who’s so crude.

Verdammt Dich!
I’m sorry,
but I’d rather not argue
with some one half of my IQ.
The way I fight,
you’re guaranteed to lose.
It’s a battle of wits,
but you came unarmed.
When this conversation started,
no one meant you any harm.

You thought you’d be impressing your friends
by “intelligently” addressing a trend
in my behavior

“…brown-nosing nerdy white bitch – no one cares about you…”
ah,
but how untrue
There’s a difference between brown-nosing and being polite
and a difference between bitching and knowing what’s right.
You may say no one cares about me,
but you’re just looking for a fight,
and besides,
I’ll always love me,
so I don’t care.
As for being white,
let make you wiser for wear.
You may find specificity is key here:
I
am
Mexican, Russian, German, Native American, and Irish.
Half of this ‘white’ background of mine isn’t really Anglo,
and they share suffering and pain through history
as every other race,
because they all have a story:
Mexican workers movement
Soviet Union
Hitler’s Oppression,
Trail of tears,
“Before the Irish Became White”,
anything ring a bell?!

No?
Of course not I shouldn’t think so highly.
Ugh!

I guess my point is just
that to me,
it’s still a mystery
why you use your ancestor’s history
as an excuse for your foolish strife,
as a reason to hold on to racism
when we just want to let it go.
No,
I won’t fight you,
and further than this,
I won’t spite you.
(mostly because it’s a waste of breath)
I just want you to know that you’re hurting yourself,
not resolving the conflict we came here for.

by ALYSSA

This is my Earth,
and I live in it.
it’s big and round and travels at an amazing pace best felt near the Ocean.
It’s big and full of idiots and geniuses,
of craziness and calm,
and of beauty and the contrary.
This is my planet.
It’s where I’ll spend a vast majority of my life.
It’s not perfect,
but it’s mine.

This is my country,
and I live in it.
It’s pretty big,
and it’s ruled by fools,
but it’s free and beautiful the same.
This is my country,
where I spend the vast majority of my time.
It’s not perfect,
but it’s mine.

This is my school,
it’s been through a lot,
like an old marching sock,
and it’s starting to change from my home.
This is my school.
It’s where I spend a vast majority of my time.
It’s not perfect,
but it’s mine.

This is my body,
and I try to change it,
but it doesn’t say a thing about me.
It doesn’t always work like I want it to.
This is my body.
It’s where I spend a vast majority of my time.
It’s not perfect,
but it’s mine.

This is my mind.
It’s where all my crazy ideas and plans are hatched,
where all your hideous cruelty is seen and matched,
and it’s where I can hide,
with my best friends:
me myself and I.
This is my mind.
It’s where I spend a vast majority of my time.
It’s not perfect,
but it’s mine.