Who Did This? - Daniel Velazquez

Little one,
Where did you learn to be?
When did you learn that your breath is not theirs,
or his,
but yours?
When did you?

Did you feel the glorious touch of the All-Mighty?
How did you manage to be
the brightest star
on the darkest night?

How did you continue smiling
after they labeled your existence heresy?

Did you learn to breathe 
using your heart and not your fist?

You are the irreverent ruler of your land

I heard the water there
is made of fresh milk;

The flowers there
nurture themselves
because they learned
that no one ever would.

The people there
live to love
and not to dream 

Did you do all this?

Who or what made you realize
that the worst thing about life
is the broken promise and not
the broken promise that comes with it

Because you know that 
pain means healing,
not hurting

Did you do all this? 
I did this 

I taught myself 
how to escape myself
from the shackles and chains they attached
to my heart and lungs 

I looked up and saw my hands waiting 
for me to embrace their touch 

Because God is not a he, 
or a she,
but a me. 

I saw my light and listened 
to mommy when she said,
Smile at the world
because it will never smile back
Smile to live and to love, 
because I made those pearls myself

I learned to live for love
and not the ambition
This nation has burned into my skull

I DID THIS

I looked myself 
in my opaque, brown eyes
and saw the pain smiling back 
as I smiled through my tears 

I learned to birth a kinship with pain
because it birthed me. 

I did this
I did this