When I became human,
It was not when I was three years old,
And the only thing I knew, or could recall,
Was the birth of my little sister,
And I couldn’t navigate the English language,
Tripping up Their, There, and They’re,
But in my defense, some adults can’t do that either,
When I became human,
it was not when I was a kindergartner,
And for the first time in life,
I processed the difference of living,
When I would shed tear after tear,
Waiting for my mother,
While some could sit there,
and enjoy the company of their peers,
When I became human,
It was not in third grade,
When the dates of history were etched into the minds of every kid,
“Never Forget” was truly the phrase of the time,
As learning of the words would never leave my mind,
Purposeful in intent of undermining their direction of color,
My food for thought was what people meant when they pertained it to me,
When I became human,
It was not in sixth grade,
Where I foolishly believed people still participated in spirit days,
And I was rather excited to show up to culture day in a shalwar kameez,
Yet was met with graphic t-shirts staring back at me,
And for the first time in my life,
I wished I could take it off,
The outfit and the shame that came with the loss,
When I became human,
It was not in eighth grade,
When I couldn’t bear the thought of existing as this,
in the eyes of others, “An out of place scum”,
A background not worth mentioning,
I have seen your people do bad too,
So why is it me that you choose?
When I became human,
It was not in Freshman year,
When the first thing that I did when I woke up,
Was look at the election,
And a sense of dread filled my body,
And when I entered the school,
You could hear it in the conversations,
The word “deportation” floating around,
Like a taunt of memorization,
When I became human,
It was when I realized,
That I never would be,
When I was three years old,
I entered the country,
And even after thirteen years of providing,
They would gut themselves before they dish us a plate,
When I became human,
Was when I realized,
The word “alien” would never leave their vocabulary,
As long an “alien” speaks a different language,
As long as an “alien” has an accent,
As long as an “alien” can’t make a mistake during their job without being told to “go back to their country”,
As long as an “alien” flips their life upside down for loved ones in punishment of birth,
As long as an “alien” is told they’re “privileged” for the sole opportunity of existing
When I became human,
It was not when I let people defend me by saying I work the majority of shifts in this land,
Or tell me I should wait an easy ten years to get a green card, to avoid the controversy,
Or let ICE separate millions of families before people get in their heads it was never the simplicity of borders,
I have taken it upon myself,
To stop letting the words “legal” or “Illegal” describe me,
Because I am not a supernatural entity
I am a human