Dear Superhero
by Jace Valentine
Dear Grandma, My Superhero,
Thank you.
Thank you isn’t enough,
To express how grateful we are for you.
You left our tiny village-our tiny little island,
Across the oceans, to a new world.
A new world with a black or white lens
Racism, Oppression and Authoritarianism
A time when police would stop a bus and ask for papers.
A time when you sacrificed for the betterment of your children.
A new world with constant setbacks, misfortune and pain.
4 seasons compared to the always tropical sun,
Spring, when you would be going to the beach with your children- your now sneezing till your face swells.
Summers, when you used to shave ice for mommy - now your potty training a new baby.
Falls, when you used to be buying ribbons for your little girls hair- your teaching another child how to read.
Winters, it never snowed back home, but you would bake your Christmas Black Cake with fruit that’s been soaking in rum all year.-Now you're running in 2 feet of snow, because Immigration Officers/NYPDNYPD stopped your bus.
In this new world,
You were a nanny.
Your children were back home fending for themselves without you.
All in the name of betterment.
Betterment, Freedom, Opportunities, and Life.
But you did it.
You never gave up.
Saving, believing, praying.
You became a citizen, a member of this new world-new community,
You brought all your kids finally.
Just like you they came to understand the struggles of this place.
21 years later I was born
If it wasn’t for you,
I wouldn’t of been born in America,
I would have been born in a tiny little town,
On a tiny beautiful little island in the Caribbean.
Your dream and drive was your children,
Your future grandchildren and generations to follow.
While it was hard, and this world is hard
You never gave up.
And neither will I
You are my hero.
Thank you.