Jakelin Ameí Rosmery Caal Maquin

The flags are at full-staff
Though Jackeline is dead
Of dehydration
And the Guatemalan boy whose name
Has not been released
Is dead
Of the flu—

They died in our custody.

The flags remain at full-staff,
Their stars going dim with grief
As refugees beg
For a glass of water
Or a dose of Ibuprofen and Amoxicillin
On the kitchen counter,
Next to the bills and Church flier—

They died in our country.

Just after Jackeline died
But before the Guatemalan boy
Whose name has not been released,
My son Richard was born
At a world-class hospital:
8 pounds 6 ounces. Apgar score of 7;
The birth announcement on Facebook
Garnered 160 likes and 47 comments—

They died in our care.

In whose custody are these flags?
In whose name are they raised and lowered,
Repaired or replaced, honored or disgraced?

I ask because
Jackeline is dead
Of dehydration,
The Guatemalan boy whose name
Has not been released
Is dead
Of the flu—

And they died in America.

—

(Jakelin Ameí Rosmery Caal Maquin died in US Customs and Border Patrol custody at the age of seven on December 8, 2018. (The Daily Beast)

My son Richard Alexander Posner was born on Saturday, December 22, 2018

The Guatemalan boy died in US Customs and Border Patrol custody on Christmas Eve, 2018, at the age of eight. He was later identified as Felipe Alonzo-Gomez. (CNN)

Written Wednesday, December 25, 2018)