In the mourning of our independence

since the beginning  
men in ships thought  
they found a paradise to conquer  
 
we in one shape or another  
have always been here  
before america  
before the west indies  
before puerto rico  
we've been through countless treaties  
referendums & plebiscites created for us  
 
we were still swimming  
celebrating the new charter  
the former oppressive country  
signed to free us  
 
this is what colonialism  
looks like in the 19th century  
 
boardrooms in suits  
monopolize our lives  
sell our island like commodity  
cut of our supply  
make some dependable on them  
so when we speak of independence  
we are looked at as crazy or radical  
 
we’ve rioted more than once  
to try to control our destiny  
to manifest our fate but as cannons  
can be metaphors it doesn't hurt as much  
as being betrayed by our brothers  
for rank or position  
at the turn of the century  
self serving politicians  
military generals & businessmen  
who fought for the south in the civil war  
the american indian wars & wounded knee  
were appointed to govern puerto rico  
 
at the turn of the century  
we’ve been plantation, military location  
export platform for corporation tax breaks  
all that could be harvest has been harvested  
& these corrupt businesses  
have tried to own it all  
 
the atrocities of the jones act  
drafted 18,000 puertooriqueños into world war one  
operation bootstrap65 sterilized a third of  
the women by experimenting iuds & birth control  
without their consent or knowledge  
 
we were force fed migration  
with images of new hope,  
new land, new opportunities  
made some dependable on oppressor  
made them think they should be grateful  
that we lived here now under the boot of hypocrisy  
call it democracy, promote liberty, justice  
& free speech for all who those in command  
 
there was once a gag law  
law 53 called la ley de la mordaza  
made it a crime to sing a patriotic tune  
to speak & write of independence  
to hold assembly in regards to our political status  
to display our flag that we love so much  
this allowed police to enter anyone’s home  
to search & seize all property, without a warrant  
this happened to us, & no one knows the stories  
we have uprisings  
& massacres on our hands  
ponce, jayuya, utuado,  
rio piedras, naranjito, peñuelas  
arecibo & mayagüez,  
& no amount of salt water  
can clean the blood from them  
 
our body is salon boricua  
new york city is salon boricua  
chicago is salon boricua  
philadelphia is salon boricua  
orlando & miami is salon boricua  
        they will continue to come for us  
        send forty me after us. shoot us  
        drag us out into the street  
        then arrest us & say we shot first  
 
how many have died for freedom?  
do we know what being free is?  
have we been in the embrace of the oppressor  
so long that we think this is how freedom feels?  
        we’ve been fed decades of systematic apathy  
        thorough corrupt politicians & elections  
        we’ll be systematically tortured, declared insane  
        after spending 25 years in jail  
 
& if you’re pro statehood then  
you’re searching for something else  
because that will not solve anything only  
fully assimilate us into the american fabric  
 
this is what genocide looks like  
in the 20th century  
 
our parents never saw a free puerto rico  
our children may never see a free puerto rico  
our grandchildren may never see a free puerto rico  
        & some of us don’t know how to swim  
        & it should be a mandatory survival skill  
        because there are sharks on land, in sea,  
        in corporations, in everything  
        & some people think i am a sinking ship  
        & some will jump ship  
        & other will sink with me  
        & some will light a candle then swim to safety  
        but we all need to know how to swim  
        we don't need an imperial lifeguards  
        or american surfboards  
 
we’ve been a colony of the united states  
for 117 years & some of us are fighting to be free  
this island has been run into  
a 70 billion dollars in debt  
 
we don’t control our export/import  
the pentagon owns 15 percent of the land  
& operates five atomic missile bases  
 
english has been declared  
the official language three different times  
even though spanish is also a colonized language  
 
the whole world recognizes us  
a colony except for the colonizer  
don’t plan the future in the embrace of an abuser  
this country does not care for us  
they bombed vieques for over 50 years  
no president from mckinley to trump  
has ever given a shit about puerto ricans  
no commission created by racist white politicians  
that don’t even know our political status  
should ever speak on the future of puerto rico  
 
 this is what imperialism looks like  
in the 21st century  
albizu campos, betances, lolita lebron  
rodriguez de tio, gonzalo marin,  
matos paoli, & filiberto  
are rolling in their graves  
oscar lopez rivera70  
was in jail for 35 years  
for fighting for liberation  
viva puerto rico libre!  
is not a slogan for a shirt  
but for our hearts  
 
so when you defend the oppressor  
say that all happened in the past  
things are different now  
puerto rico is a commonwealth  
people voted on it  
        remember  
        how we’ve been cut of our supply  
        made some dependable on the oppressor  
        so when we speak of independence  
        we’re looked at as crazy or radical  
 
but we’re not, we love the island  
& we know that it’s future won’t flourish properly  
under the control of an government  
that mainly sees the island as a military location  
& corporate tax break haven  
 
those who have died  
can’t tell their story  
but we are not dead  
we are here right now  
        living puerto rico  
        being puerto rico  
        loving puerto rico  
pa’que lo sepas  
 
this is puerto rico right this minute.