Submissions by Chicana

It was a dark night
Streets lights were there to reassure me of my existence
As I ran with my shadow following me leaving foot prints on the floor  
Cop cars, sirens  
Neighbors knocking on my door  
Black chucks, blue laces  
I seen this happen too many times before  
Surrounded by red blood  
Spattered like the paint I use to tag up my name over the city  
The numbers 1994 tattooed on his leg  
Seeing my loved one laying there on the pavement  
I didn’t want to think he was dead  
The panic, the sweat and the tears   ...

I am the future
My immigrant parents depend on me
We livin in the ghetto where hope is hard to find
They came here to this country to give me a better life
Struggle and pain
How are they able to maintain?
We barely gettin’ by
These bills are so damn hard to pay
Wiping away the tears from my mothers eyes
Telling her it’s going to be alright
Everyday She lives her life in fear
doesn’t feel safe, is the end near?
Don’t take away my mother
She’s the only one I have
But I doubt they actually care about that
The...

These low income kids need more motivation  
My teachers don’t know the problems we are facing  
I am not a rich privileged girl   I am a chicana, raised in the ghetto type of girl
 
Let me take you inside of my world  
Just next to my house is where the gangsters meet  
If you say something wrong  
They’re quick to leave you dead in the street  
Graffiti and gang signs is all you see on the walls  
If you take a walk and hear shots  
You wouldn’t want to be in deep  
 
Cops can stop you just because they can ...