Undocumented Sonnet: Advance Parole by José Felipe Ozuna

"They are letting/not letting me return to Mexico"

Undocumented Sonnet: Advance Parole

by José Felipe Ozuna

They are letting/not letting me return to Mexico the place that is/isn’t mine
I need to fill out a form to prove/disprove           my trip is/isn’t valid
The goal of immigrant paperwork is/isn’t      to see/unsee what our humanity
is/isn’t worth                If it is/isn’t there                    I will see/unsee my family
who are/aren’t mine                   to find out if my blood is/isn’t
image/flesh I can only see/unsee so many         pixel hands through Facebook
walk lost streets through Google Earth           I will return/leave to this
America where I won’t know               when/if             how/why           where/when
I will be deported            Undocumented/illegal
means my existence is                criminal
I am    a question of morals      un-American    citizen of            distance
Question 1a.:              Purpose of trip.
Answer: How much does my father look/not look like his father?
Answer: I want to hold/hold my grandmother’s hand.

Originally published in Afternoon Visitor, 2025. Permission granted by author.