i was born to two immigrants   who knew why they were here   they were happy to pay taxes   for the schools and roads   happy to be here   they took it seriously   the second job of citizenry   my mother went campaigning door to door   and holding to her hand was me      i was just a girl in a room full of women   licking stamps and laughing   i remember the feeling of community brewing   of democracy happening      but i suppose like anybody   i had to teach myself to see   all that stuff that got lost   on its way to church   all that stuff that got lost   on its way to school   all that stuff that got lost   on its way to the house of my family   all that stuff that was not lost on me      teach myself to see each of us   through the lens of forgiveness   like we're stuck with each other (god forbid!)   teach myself to smile and stop and talk   to a whole other color kid   teach myself to be new in an instant   like the truth is accessible at any time   teach myself it's never really one or the other   there's a paradox in every paradigm      i was just a girl in a room full of women   licking stamps and laughing   i remember the feeling of community brewing   of democracy happening