Remi Kanazi: Cleaning Up Your Mess
Cleaning Up Your Mess
Remi Kanazi
I came to this country
because I was hungry
To get my shirt dirty and pay my
dues
And I know I’m not you
I wasn’t born
here
Without the fear of not feeding my family
Some
people can’t stand to see me walk around this city
But
I’m not the enemy they paint me out to be
I work more than
nine to five to survive
I slave for twelve hour days to
pay the rent
To put smiles on my children’s faces
To
send my relatives money in different places
My wife’s a
chamber maid
Making less than minimum wage
But this
is our way to go
We work harder than any citizen we
know
Because we’ve seen worse
We were
cursed
Brought up in poverty
I left my country to make
a life better for my family
I don’t know why you’re so
scared of me
We have furthered this society
And we do
it quietly
We work the jobs you won’t do
We clean your
pools
Your schools
Pick the fruit that sits on your
tables
We clean your stables
Groom your lawn
And
we’re still pawned by politics
You don’t want us to
drive
Or further our lives
You just want us to work
and barely get paid
No social security
No health care
Just slavery in a bigger cage
We help
Not hurt this
country
You’re lucky we don’t just get up and
leave
Because then you’d have to rake your own
leaves
You’d have to bus your own dishes
Make your
own sandwiches
You never once mention your
advantages
You just want to get a bigger edge
A larger
slice of my small piece of pie
But I’ve worked hard to be
here
And I’ve done my work with pride
I’m not going
back Mexico
I’m staying here for good
Unless you know
a cheaper mechanic
That can pop that dent out of your
hood
Remi Kanazi is the primary writer for the
political website www.PoeticInjustice.net He lives in New
York City as a Palestinian American freelance writer, poet
and performer and can reached via email at
remroum@gmail.com