BIRTHRIGHT #poetry by jay

Collective memory lives
like a cesspool
collecting waste


history birthed into us
a collectors grave-


for our ancestors fought
and even today,
not asking for the sky


to darken their days,


the challenge remains
across seas/ across plains


birthed in a land
of contradiction
and dis-ease


we claim 
our—


birthright to land
birthright to peace
birthright to die
in love- 


we do as we please


our birthright to birth
unfettered by greed.




© Jay Mora-Shihadeh