SandScript 2021

A BODY OF FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES:
WE THE PEOPLE
Mauricia Manuel
Part 1
“We the people, living between litter filled oceans,
Selected citizens born on land
but floating on an endless stream of judgment.”
I worry about the clothes I put on, too much thigh, too much chest?
Too much sunless skin, covered in moles and birthmark, nothing like the rest.
“We are practicing to be perfect, entirely without fault,
Satisfying all requirements of being a standard American with all obstacles included,
while the world conspires against generations of imposed poverty.”
I search for the big yellow clearance sign for clothes, for food, no tag goes unturned.
Always skimming through coupons, hand me downs and day-old dinners without concern.
“We have become crabs trapped in a barrel,
yanking on each other, in fear of someone making it out first.
Programmed to believe that there can only be one winner.”
I thank the creator for scratcher wins, close calls, and found pocket dollars.
For making it home at night, through parking lots, around every corner without a hollar.
“We the people. Are expected to be more than we are in flesh, in mind.
Encouraged to be tranquil during a period of violent efforts. Told that we are liberated
While still enslaved by screens and job demands, leaving our families without us.”
I have been trapped in a loveless marriage, before the rivers dried up, while roads were paved
Been screwed over by broken treaties and gentrification, following too quickly to be saved.
“We, whose soles beat the concrete. We are not in union, but we still create a connective
rhythm.”
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