the pages are on fire
- Nina Lee
- Jan 22, 2022
- 2 min read
Hi y'all! It's been a little while, but I am finally back sharing a hybrid piece I wrote so long ago that I recently rediscovered and finished. This one holds a very sensitive place in my heart, and I definitely needed time away to come back to it and alter it. Truthfully, it doesn't really ever feel like any of my works are fully finished, but I want to share them regardless of their status. So, I'll probably go back and change this a dozen more times, but here it is anyway.
A little context for the poem is definitely needed as it is a hybrid piece between two formats that are unrelated. I was in an immigration sociology class a couple semesters ago, and growing up so close to the border, it really inspired me. We read the essay: Tell Me How It Ends by Valeria Luiselli, and it has stuck with me ever since. The intense danger endured by many immigrants, along with the crushing stigma toward them in America, is heart wrenching. It is burning hot to the touch, impossible to look away and unsee, but not nearly as recognized as it should be. I highly recommend this book to all. Anyway, as I was reading it, I heard the song It's A Beautiful Day by Michael Bublé come on in the coffee shop I was at. The juxtaposition I was feeling from reading the book vs the song bleeding into my ears inspired this piece. Enjoy!
The pages are on fire
It’s a beautiful day
And his voice sings it warm
It feels good seeping in
But lies hold so much power over me
And that is nothing new
It’s a beautiful day
And he fills me up right
But my eyes
Glued to the page
Where the truth is burning hot
Overflow I go
These children are dying
Running on la bestia
Coyotes to “save”
Eat them up instead?
The heat puts me to sleep
A nightmare I cannot escape
The pages are on fire
Crisp at the edges
Burnt from the truth
That no one, no country
Will acknowledge
It’s a beautiful day
If you close your eyes
And let it be lukewarm
It’s a beautiful day
Sings his heart
Straight to mine
But I’ve decided against the lukewarm
The fiery truth is needed
And that is nothing new
It’s only a beautiful day
For us “Americans” And I want the heat
To boil that stigma away
Let it be a beautiful day
For us all
And maybe then I’ll sing along
(found via Pinterest)
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