A Ballad for Jakelin

This is the tale of a girl

Only seven years old

Who came here from Guatemala.

Let her story be told.

 

Jakelin Caal Maquin

Came here with her dad

With hopes of seeking asylum,

Before everything went bad.

 

People seeking refuge

Are dangerously exposed

To inhumane conditions

When ports of entry are closed.

 

Through the desert they wandered

With others of the same mind

Seeking a place of safety

And leaving danger behind.

 

At least that's what they hoped for.

They hadn't had a clue

That cruelty existed

Here in America, too.

 

When they turned themselves in,

It's said that father and daughter

For several wearisome days

Hadn't had food or water.

 

The child started having

Seizures, the records show--

A nightmare for the father

Who suffered this tale of woe.

 

Possible dehydration,--

Doctors later expressed--

Shock and exhaustion led

To cardiac arrest.

 

A hospital in El Paso

Was where she took her last breath.

A new life was their goal;

What they encountered was death.

 

The head of the DHS--

Nielsen--places the blame

All on Jakelin's father.

The woman has no shame.

 

The callous disrespect

Of international law

Regarding asylum seekers

Reveals her major flaw.

 

Must we blame the victims?

We must ask ourselves why

There aren't better solutions

So more children won't die.

 

Sorry, Jakelin.

We must apologize

For our officials who thrive

On heartlessness and lies.

 

-by Bob B (12-15-18)