I created this work in response to the human rights violations perpetrated by the United States government in ICE Detention facilities along the United States’ southern border. The materials that comprise the work allude to the austere physical conditions of the detention centers: cement, rubber mats, thermal blankets. The cement physically forms the word “refuge” conjuring an image of safety and protection in the viewer’s mind that is at odds with the physical materials present. What conditions or experiences cause a human being to seek refuge? What conditions make the cement and barbed wire of a detention center worth risking? What kind of protection do we owe each other as human beings?

Cage, Rigoberto González

In a world of loss

     gratitude is what 

          I demand for keeping 

     precious catch

within my reach.

     No one despises 

          the shepherd for

     collecting his flock. 

No one accuses 

     the watchman of 

          making a captive 

     of his charge.

I’m like a holster, 

     or sheath, all function 

          and no fury. Don’t 

     you worry as I 

swallow you whole. Those 

     ulcers in my gut 

          are only windows,

     the stoma punched 

in my throat is just 

     a keyhole. Don’t be shy.

          Hand me the rattle 

     of your aching heart

 and I’ll cradle you, 

     bird with broken wing. 

          Let me love you. I

     will hold your brittle 

bones together. I’ll 

     unclasp your beak

         so you can sing.

     It’s a world of always 

leaving but here

     you can always stay.