Up North By The 38th Parallel Poem by Jeremiah Sergio Garcia

Condescended in our classroom that September
I remember the darker Mexicans being defenseless
It was difficult for me to be content with the professor
The stereotypical Mexicans spoke in past tenses
Couldn't comprehend words and was patronized
I wanted to speak up or at least break the ice
Maybe silence wasn't wise, I couldn’t even
Look into the teacher’s eyes, I had a reason
Belittled again and indeed I felt defeated
I noticed that the attendance shrunk
Others jealous of races that they couldn’t compete with
Jealous of the Asians receiving a better education
Monday we read a social article
The argument was never bombarded or argued against
The author believed that Asians grow up in a hardworking culture
It’s like the language was completely vulgar
Mexicans worked hard, but opportunities were smoldered
The day got worse and we were slowly tortured
The professor demanded that we support the author
Most of us were quite bothered
Next week when the paper was due
I only saw seven people attend and the teacher was confused
It was ironic that the teacher supported the paper’s argument
“There’s something wrong with this community’s culture”
Death was swarming like a vulture
Carlos and I exited and we were seen by the bathroom
By our tutor who saw us ditch the classroom
She said I had flaws and attendance was important
Millions of words were spoken
I felt her reasoning was merely contorted
“Have a nice day” my friend answered
She exaggerated a laugh sarcastically
She harassed me, she said that next class
She would babble about me for skipping class
Walked away and couldn't believe I was witnessing that.