Poems on “Bad Hombres”

As the Presidential Election draws near, more and more citizens of the United States have started tuning in to the ferocious debates between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. There have been momentous actions taken and words spoken on both sides, however the latest one to hit the internet and strike up a myriad of heated discussions is Trump’s wording when he referred to illegal latino immigrants as “bad hombres.” These two poems written for the 10th grade Literature of the Americas course recreate the style that is currently being studied of Cornelius Eady in his “Brutal Imagination” poetry series. This way of writing coined by Eady is an insight into the voices of the unrecognized and often unheard and are represented through a series of poems from the 1st person perspective. To further add depth and relevance to the course, pungent tones of sarcasm and cajoling were added inspired by a poem analyzed in class earlier in the year, Phillis Wheatley’s “On Being Brought from Africa to America.” These pieces about the election are pertinent to our school to further the student held discussions because of the proximity of the election and in result the growing tension among students and faculty alike. Writing pieces such as these are a way to communicate topics as important as the presidential election to inspire conversation and action within the school community.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Students are invited to submit other election-inspired student writing for potential publication in The Grace Gazette. Email Editor-In-Chief, Katie Hoffman, with submissions.

I am one of them
I am one of the bad men,
Not quite the monsters under the bed, or the boogeyman just hiding around the corner
You may know us as the “bad hombres.”
We are the cheaters, scammers, job stealers,
The freeloaders, drug abusers, and bad influences.

We are the demise of your society.
We singlehandedly bring down your country’s patriotism,
We ruin your culture with ours,
We bring violence to your oh so safe neighborhoods,
We bring drug addiction into your country,
And Donald just can’t stand it,
He has abused us as his scapegoat, and now there is nothing on this earth left to blame on us.

Abused
Our name has been plastered onto countless T Shirts and internet memes,
in this fast paced haze, us “bad hombres” have become a recognizable entity.
A concept so strange to us.
As we are used to lurking in the shadows, inspiring fear.
We used to be the undetected, alien, that is no longer the case.
Donald Trump has exposed us for who we really are and now there is no more hiding.
I, and the rest of my people must face the wrong-doing in our deeds, and
Let the good and honorable citizens of America show us the righteous way.
Well researched statistics mean nothing to Donald,
So in our recurring nature, we’ll continue to come to his aid in his never ending battle to cast off accountability for his actions, blaming all misbehavior on us, a minority race, simply stated as, “bad hombres.”