It won’t feel real at first but once you see it, the visions will persist
You will never save anything (not your time or friends or money) under a fascist
You might waste your breath waiting to be fed, that’s what happens when you insist
No one will save themselves because the word was made by a fascist
Problems are not made in a lab or a police station or an admissions list
They are birthed into subjects deemed unsaveable by a fascist
Logic hasn’t been logical, love won’t be enough and I say this as an idealist
Think hard about whether you want to save the same things as a fascist
Continuing to let doubt define you will make you confuse what to resist
Save your magic not your empathy, save the children not the fascist
Listen to the voices you know are there, dormant like an ovarian cyst
Remember all you are is a child raised by a child and so is a fascist
There is no harder pill to swallow than accepting a social shift
Imposing isn’t, but imposing out of fear is what defines a fascist
The only rules that are important are those that feed a mouth, soften a fist
Start saving critical thought because no one will admit they’re a fascist
Now laugh at everything that once made Juancho cry when we were afraid to exist
Saving joy reminds you just how important we are even in a world ruled by a fascist
Juan Alejandro Borge Osorio (call him Ale) is a student at Columbia University studying Creative Writing and Ethnicity & Race Studies. He was born in Barranquilla, Colombia and grew up in the state of Georgia, making both his home. He enjoys reading and writing poetry. His love for literature and poetics began as early as he can remember with Juan Luis Guerra or a good vallenato always playing at his grandfather’s house. Music and poetry have always been one of his love languages and a way to connect with his family and friends, especially his mother. He has been published in The Columbia Review, Prudence Dispatch, IŌ Literary Journal, Oddball Magazine, Indelible, Levitate and Roots.