Personal College Essay

Like the pilgrims of our land
Dirt forever embedded under their nails
I too believe
In a Jeffersonian euphoria
Planting our seeds
Of knowledge, hope, desire, insecurity
Beneath the thriving noire soil
We shall water them
With our tears
Of dedication and loss
And then join hands
With the wife, son, senator, victim, survivor
And plow our fertile dreams

Like the framers of our country
Impending decisions weighing on their conscious
I too have small hands
Struggling to express, describe
To write
The words that sit upon my tender, tired lips
Tired from defending
Tender for reassurance
Must I remind that, “A poem should not mean, but be”

Like the sisters of the 19th amendment
Suppressed for their saturated loins
I too still stand
As a second class citizen
But rejoice with the hands of pax
That shook with those of adversity
I vow to never retreat the pride I harbor
Or allow the daggers of our prestigious leaders
To crack the glass figurine
That I am

Like the many blessed soldiers of our motherland
Sacrificing their flesh due to the power of one man
I too am scared
And pray for the glory
Of a new and forgiving day
For this world can be unwelcoming
So damned be, I keep my armor on
I refuse to shed blood on this land
When there has been enough lost
On soils across our vast seas

Like me
A hybrid formed from parts
Of the pilgrim, framer, sister, and solider
I too do imagine my image is a puzzling one to create
So if I end as a blur in your mind
Look to your hands,
For a part of me is you and a part of you is me