The Immigrants

The Immigrants

By

Elton Camp

Mexican man, father of three
Feed, clothe them, would he.
But a job is not to be found.
Not in his own hometown.

To the north he will go
Jobs to get, he’s heard so.
Come here you cannot do
We will welcome but few

Far beyond the Rio Grande
Lies a virtual promised land
But he must ignore the rule
And give his life unto a mule

Pay to him his very last peso
Trust in the mule’s say so.
Into a van a crowd to pack
Enough food & water lack

Across the miles of barren dirt
Perhaps to be killed, surely hurt.
If he is lucky and isn’t caught,
He may find the work he sought.

If any income tax he dares to pay
The INS will soon come his way
Their demand on him is very hard
Must show us now your green card

We find your morals low & weak
Because English you cannot speak
To hear you jabber in that Spanish
We deem to be so much outlandish

We hate the darkness of your skin
Never can you be an equal friend
Explain to us why you ‘re so short
And for all your faults, we will deport

You may not get a house on our street
Likes of you we aren’t willing to greet
We fear you might keep a filthy house
One running over with lice and mouse

But if to hard, manual work you’re able
We will agree to pay you under the table
Expect that your wages will be quite low
Take what’s offered, or out the door you go

Hola, Pedro, you will hear our mocking taunt
And take the low-level jobs we don’t want
And remember your own subservient place
Or we will return you to Mexico in disgrace

You illegal alien, nasty, ugly and full of sin
Though you cooperate, no way you’ll win
When menial jobs for you finally run out,
We’ll send you packing without a doubt

You’re a parasite, so work here no more
We have firmly shut and locked the door
The country’s border is closed to you tight
So that it can’t be crossed without a fight

Arizona has shown the rest of us the way
To keep such riff-raff as you so far at bay
The very same should be true in every state
Illegal immigrants real Americans so hate.  

(Please realize this is a poem of satire and
is designed to show the feelings of many
in my hometown which has a large,  recent
influx of immigrants.  It doesn’t necessarily  
represent my own views.)

Copyright © | Year Posted 2010



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Date: 12/15/2010 1:53:00 PM
The struggles of this man touched my heart, Elton. Yes, we have many immigrants crossing our borders to find work. The Arizona law has been implemented to some extent in Florida. Your poem reminds me that the US was once a welcoming melting pot for many nations. Competition for jobs has created a disruptive atmosphere and we forget our roots -- unless we are Native Americans, our ancestors came here just as these immigrants try to do. Powerful poem! Love, Carolyn
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