2sides of 1child

by Ermestina Sanjur

he sees

maturity
gravitation towards older heads

i see

narcissism
temper tantrums demand we stop, listen, soothe
in public & private

he sees

a budding anti-capitalist
a disciple in Halloween, Christmas, Easter conspiracies

i hear

capitalism in each capricho fulfilled

he sees

humor
in the words that intercept
conversations between adults

i see

brazenness
entertained too often

he sees

a trilingual prodigy
in words memorized to recite
when the camera’s on

i see

a monolingual monstro
with an anglicized tongue
whose beady eyes judge my mouth

he sees

creativity
on coloring book pages
in animated stories about cartoon characters

i see

color blindness
hands clasp a switch with ease
yet cannot build play-doh sculptures
incapable to retell, capable to lie
compared to other children
what’s the difference?
this immigrant parent dreams of raising
an anti-imperialist child
a badass who doesn’t care to please, impress classmates
well-versed in discerning propaganda from facts
who knows both histories:
the one to pass tests in school
and the one to contribute en largas sobremesas
meanwhile

he seeks

to preserve innocence
paying attention to the news
good grades
restrained exuberance
aren’t required
youth as an excuse

i see

a hypocrite
no fault of his own
a product of time & environment