Immigration Poem by Michelle Hanes

By truck, by bus or plane
By car, by boat or train

All ways to get here
From far away or very near

They all do their best,
Just like the rest

What do they get when they get here?
They get a brain full of fear.

Present, future or the past
Fear is something that always lasts

They're told of amazing things, like streets of gold
When they're really asphalt and very old

The stories they say, it tortures me so,
These things they go through, what they had to do, but no

Not every story will have a happy ending,
Plenty of them end with their 'visa pending'

Children deported, families torn
Fathers tired, mothers mourn

Everything is always perfect, covered up
People end up begging, for change in a cup

People gasp at the thought it's true,
as true as the fact that the sky is blue

All they want is a better life,
Free of hunger and free of strife...

How hard is that?