Poems by
Jesus Serrano PAIN AND SUFFERING: MY LIFE STORY When I came from Puerto Rico to the United States, my plane landed in New York and in Brooklyn I stayed. Three months passed me by and I had to keep to the street, not knowing where I was or where I was going to live. Doing the time on the street, I found an empty place where I got in and laid my head. The days were passing by and I had no place to stay, not being able to find a job because I did not know the place. Across the street from the empty building I was in was a Dominican bar. I started to go there because I did not have a place to hang. I began to look for a job. In desperation, I began to steal because I could not get a job and had no food to eat while looking. I got arrested and ended up in The Rock. The Island of Rock where I spent some time. At that time, I did not know the language. I was abused, because the officer was hitting me and I didn’t know what to do. I was only 18. I spent 18 months there. And I suffered all that time after my plane landed in New York.
THE BEAUTY OF MY LIFE Living in Puerto Rico was a beautiful thing. But going to school was shameful because I felt less than. I’m saying this because I did not have anything—I was very poor and others said things about that. I went through school and graduated. But I carried the shame—the shame of having nothing— the thing that was hurting me. The shame of my family hurt. Everything I remember when I look back at my life at an early age: I was a Boy Scout and I began to learn that I can be like others, no matter if I feel ashamed. Shame gave me the reason to try to be someone people respect. I entered the police auxiliary to look a little better and not feel so much shame. When I was in high school, I was learning more than the people who were making me feel shame. I thank God for giving me freedom. And now I understand that no matter what anybody says, I don’t have to feel ashamed.
Situations 17
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