Brown Threat 2 Society
by Alejandro G. Vera

A menace to society and a vago from the hood
And porque my skin is brown
People assume I’m up to no good
They don’t feel safe when I’m around
They look down on me cuando hablo Espanglish
A bloodthirsty descendant of the Aztecs
Porque I don’t speak the “proper” language
I speak what’s known as Tex-Mex
Because I come from the Deep South
And have aggressive attitude towards people
But in my life, there’s been nothing to smile about
It’s full of sin, struggles, and evil
All they show is resentment and fear
But if you look closely into my eyes
You’ll see the pain from all those troubled years
I disguise it with black shades in daylight
And at night wash it away with a case of beers
But still at times in the still of the night
Alone in the dark I fight away tears
Pero no me entiendes, you can’t understand
When the odds are against you, how can you prosper?
When during childhood you become a man
And after that derange into a monster
This is for all my misunderstood brothers
Who won’t settle for minimum wages
Who are a danger to themselves and others
For all the carnales confined up in cages

Alejandro G. Vega was born in Mexico City and brought to the United States at the age of two. “I grew up my whole life in San Anto, and as the oldest of six children born to first generation immigrants I learned everything through hard knocks at home and in school — but mostly on the streets. Nobody in my family has ever been to college or graduated and I hope to prove a lot of people wrong and be the first one. I feel my poetry is an extension of my beliefs and emotions harmonizing in an art form. Every poem is a peek of what goes on inside a revolutionary mind.”