A Poem On Teaching "Farewell to Manzanar"

On the first day of school,

the young Chinese student announced,

"I hate the Japanese!"

citing the Rape of Nanjing.

He was not taught of Tiananmen Square or the Cultural Revolution.

Nor was I.

When you are 12 and 13 and 14,

you know everything.

We started with "Farewell to Manzanar" and went from there.

Teaching "Farewell to Manzanar"

the year that Trump reawakens

the Alien Enemies Act,

mere months after the author's death.

The final writing prompt -

"Manzanar did not happen in a bubble..."

The takeaway that this was the America we created.

Fear-mongering, othering, seeking a common scapegoat.

Blame.

Reflecting on "Farewell to Manzanar,"

comparing those times to these.

Internment camps were not

concentration camps,

but they still ended in death for many.

Lack of sanitation without access to healthcare,

maternal deaths that were preventable -

there - inevitable.

Fathers became tragic heroes.

Stuck.

Reading "Farewell to Manzanar,"

Alongside today's headlines -

Illegal immigrant to some,

Wrongfully deported Maryland man to others.

Husband. Human.

One of hundreds - not merely deported,

but imprisoned.

Like the Japanese in World War II,

For an unspecified time.

For unspecified crimes.

Powerless.

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