Not Me

“Protect and serve”?
Not me
Not my empty pockets
They are not here for me

“Homeland Security”?
I have no claim to a homeland
I have never been secure

All I have is borrowed

I have not been taught
how to own anything
other than my sweat

And even that
is owed to someone somewhere

Nothing is mine
but this mind,
this heart that breaks
for those who are beaten
and those who do the beating

And even for those
who give the orders–
how broken they must be

How difficult the process
of awakening.