A Ballad of a Dreamer (Un Corrido de un Dreamer)

This is the song of a Dreamer.

You would be hard-pressed to find

A more likable person.

He is one of a kind.

 

He moved to California;

From south of the border he came--

A four-year-old with his family.

Futuro, we'll say, was his name.

 

Futuro's father and mother

Worked very hard to provide

A good life for their children--

Something that they'd been denied.

 

Schooling was very important.

Futuro strove to excel.

He wanted his parents to see him

And his three siblings do well.

 

His college graduation

Made his parents so proud.

The smiles on their faces were something--

The biggest smiles in the crowd.

 

Futuro landed employment.

Later things went awry

When a cop pulled him over

And gave him a DUI.

 

That's when the nightmare started

Futuro was able to see

What it was like to be treated

Like a detainee.

 

Belongings were confiscated.

His hands and feet were chained,

As if he were a convict

Who had to be restrained.

 

They gave him no information

And moved him from place to place.

Each detention center

Was an utter disgrace.

 

Conditions were atrocious.

The rooms were damp and cold.

The food was barely edible

After you scraped off the mold.

 

Thanks to our heartless leaders.

Thanks to the CCA.*

We have detention centers

Where people are treated this way.

 

Such centers often become

A two- or three-year address

For many detainees caught in

A bureaucratic mess.

 

These for-profit prisons,

Based on what we know,

Are an assault on our freedom.

Let's face it: they've got to go.

 

When we civilized people

Treat human beings like this--

Worse than we treat an animal--

There is something amiss.

 

Futuro, well, he was lucky.

He was released on bail.

Now his fate is in limbo.

At least he's no longer in jail.

 

Must he hide in the shadows?

Must he be on the run?

What will it take for Futuro

To walk in the light of the sun?

 

Give Futuro your blessings.

Give the hopeful your praise.

May our eyes be opened.

May we see brighter days.

 

(2-24-17) By Bob B

 

*Corrections Corporation of America