by Bill Derry
It is you, Carlos
flashing your brilliant smile
cruising your new bicycle
sporting your black hoodie
unabashedly you
Yes, you, Carlos, innocent,
eighteen, inquietante
a spotless record already employed
a consternation to your neighbors
perturbador de la paz
Yes, your Spanish-speaking,
legal asylum–seeking,
ideology-wreaking self,
a palpable threat
una verdadera amenaza
So, of course, the early
morning raid from ICE follows,
like night follows day,
no warrant or just cause
needed for you, Carlos
no, not for you
un peligro real
Away from family
invisible now, within
the “detention center”
12-foot fences topped
by concertina wire
un hombre malvado
Yes, you, Carlos
disturbingly authentic you
we must suppress
who does not fit simplistic slogans
who has not learned yet
to slink in shadows
or cower near authority
un hombre sincero
It is you, Carlos
unabashedly you
who scares us so