"I thought"
So Americans are taking trips to Mars
But I thought aliens were bad
I thought we were frightened by the extraterrestrial
Not enamored by them
Well-mannered for them
At first sight, our soliloquies become stammers for them
I thought we were building a barricade to
block inward-bound aliens
I didn’t think we were shaping shuttles to scamper
Onto supernatural soil
I thought we were supposed to block the aliens from
The ballot box by requiring paperwork they didn’t have
In languages they couldn’t read
As the accents they couldn’t comprehend
Laughed them out of their houses, down the street, and “back where you came from”
I thought we believed in ICE cold temperaments and searing hypocrisy
Pureblood residence, and the Self-Righteousness of Socrates
But now we’re making Mars our settlement, becoming the immigrants we called atrocities
Rockets in quantity
At rapid velocity
Our vision’s viscosity
Makes us reject other geographies
I thought the notion of an immigrant was to be the scapegoat of this democracy
But seeing now that our hatred for aliens has been withdrawn
I guess I thought wrong
Micheal Kawooya
Editor: Michela Rowland