Parents came here in the 90’s

To a place that wasn’t there own

A residency

Titled “immigrants on vacation”

A constant reminder this wasn’t their home

Integrating into a system

That was never made for their use

In the land of opportunity

How come they suffered abuse?

From the island of sun and sea

And banana weh drop offa tree

To tetley and rich teas

And people who wipe their hand in their pants when they sneeze

Money doesn’t grow on trees here

As it was made to seem

And life get’s a bit more serious

When your raising kings and queens

To be different than those before

But better than how were deemed

To be proud of our blackness

And let the melanin boost your self esteem

Roots: the point at which something begins its course or existence

For me home is here,

There,

In this instance

Because i stay connected to the roots

Tracing back

To my ancestors

Reliving parent stories of

The life they knew before

I could write a book about the pain they endured

And I admit that the fight today

Is not entirely the same

Guess everyones done looking

For people to blame

And even with

broken leaves

On the tallest trees

The roots still remain same.