Dreams deferred

Laura Sermeño

When I was a child,
I only had two dreams.

One, become an artist.
Second, be a lawyer.
Be taken seriously.
Move yourself out of poverty.
Defend the defenseless.
Build a voice for the voiceless
or whatever other nonsense

I wrote in that college personal statement.
Another phrase I conjured in that paper:

“Fatherless days turned into years…”

Surprisingly, to you, I didn’t
get into UCLA because of
affirmative action…
Or a diversity decision…
Nah.
I’m actually smarter than you.
Genius in a Mexican way
You don’t understand.
Smart for an American, so
you get sent to college
and stop having childish dreams
of anything relating to art.

Whatever set me apart,
whatever sets me apart now…

I’m happy I quit law school.

I kept dreaming
No dream deferred
American, no meaning
Home, a feeling
Now I get to deliver these words to you.
Now art is everything that I do.