Poem by Daniela Alvarez, English 2600, fall 2021

There’s No Angels In Los Angeles
Los Angeles
What’s so great about it?
It’s filled with lies and crimes
A stolen land thanks to Christopher!
Some are born here, some come here
Hoping for a better life, but what’s better than your actual home?

I was born in the heart of Los Angeles
Growing up I was taught pretty little lies
How Los Angeles promises us fame, success, and fortune
Which I believed up until High School where everything unraveled
Everything was a lie
History books filled with them
Teachers spreading them
It made me mad

This whole time I thought Los Angeles was a better place
Racism
Discrimination
Injustice
It all lies here
So when you’re forced to come to Los Angeles for a better place,
Don’t think it actually is

Shanghai girls were forced to come here
To marry strangers
To have a better life in an unknown place
All because of their father and his ongoing problems that they were forced to fix
They weren’t happy
They were afraid of the world that didn’t carry their parents
They faced discrimination
They were blamed for things they didn’t do
All because of their race
Appearance
And they only really had each other
The two sisters trying to survive in Los Angeles
As they had barely begun their fresh start
Especially after the Japanese bombs destroyed their city
They had no choice but to move forward
For the safety of their lives
To hopefully fit in

But all Los Angeles did was put up barriers
And that isn’t ever talked about
And why is that you may ask?
Because they are trying to keep Los Angeles clean
A clean image for the city
And by they I mean history, the people and everyone behind LA
This has always been “our” city,
They’re just not hiding it anymore
