The things I carry have
stifled my development,
damaged me beyond repair,
and sometimes lifted me
beyond the horizon to
land in the arms of a
wonderful creature.
These things have caused
me to travel within
inches of death and given
me a life that I cherish.

I carry the humiliation of
physical beatings.

I carry the fear of having
a pistol put to my head.

I carry the knowledge of
knowing that my father never
loved me.

I carry the anger of having
weak, uneducated parents who
thought sparing the rod was
spoiling the child, and it
proved to be a bloody mess,
my bloody mess.

I carry the anger of growing
up too fast and having to work,
when I should have been
playing.

I carry Mr. Benedict with me
every day, a so-called educator
and definitely a devil.

I carry

I carry my mothers' fight against
men who harm helpless women and
children.

I carry the pain of having too
many memories with women I did
not love.

I carry the woman I love in my
arms whenever she cannot walk for
herself, over any terrain, in any
weather, at any time, and at any
cost.

I carry

I carry petulance against an
inconsistent and disingenuous
hypocrisy, perpetuated by those
in power.

To fight for my country, to kill
innocent people, for rich men
whose children will never shed
blood, I carry hate.

I carry the blood of my beautiful
Taino ancestors who suffered at
the hands of Columbus and his
conquistadores.

I carry the flag of my country in
justice and freedom for all
regardless of color, creed,
gender, national origin, or sexual
orientation.

I carry

I carry the pain of my brothers
and sisters for I will give them
my last cent, my last possession,
and the blood of my body if it
puts them at peace, and I will
carry you whenever you need me.

I carry

I carry a vision that gives me
strength to work steadily against
an undistinguished later life,
which ends in a sea of excrement
that I did not ask for. In small
increments, just as the snow of
winter is measured, I have
developed my own language, and
philistines who have no interest
in my pursuits and fear my
intellect will not stifle me.

I carry a dream that MLK and
Gandhi will resurface and once
again bask in the sun, which was
once generous with its golden
rays. Then perhaps you and I
will see beyond our differences
and realize the vision of truth
that lays two feet before our
eyes and states that we are all
the same, we all want to
feel safe and secure; we all
want love and happiness, and
we all want peace.

I carry Hope

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