The Zoo

Took a village to raise a child
Not much was transparent
My after schools were spent with aunts, uncles and grandparents
And cousins huddled over stove tops
Three generations under one roof with juxtaposed thoughts of what was left behind
And the grind for a better life
But the definition of what was better was inconclusive
Elusive
Whatever it was, we just knew it wasn't where we were
So we scattered ourselves over continents and found solace in faith but
Often felt that was misplaced when it was shaken by tremors and pressures
That were perceived as foreign to us

Made our homes using hands with arthritic bones
Mom shifted from graveyard to graveyard
And Pops survived the last round of lay-offs but held his breath until the next time
And confines of limitations interfering in a war between identity and assimilation
Conflicting concepts of preservation so
We were measured against standards of beauty and intelligence that were not our own
So the same freedoms aren’t afforded by everyone
And that means home is never really home
We just accept what’s around
Us to survive and make do
Much like animals in a zoo

And we’re the offspring
Born captive and subordinates to masters
So we use our music
With choruses adapted like slave songs leading us to coordinates of passage
Away from this
The only environment we’ve ever known
Which has grown to become claustrophobic
And below the stoic mosaic
And the façade of an all-tolerant god
Exist as zoo babies