Since 97
we have been fed
hemoglobin
little by little

by force, like it
has been added
to the water we drink,
eight glasses a day.

Unaware of how
our bodies change,
how we are made
docile, like dogs

promised bones,
we keep quiet.
And they believe
they own the totality of us.

Today, our young
occupy the streets
in the dead center
of this mystic city,

arms raised for truth,
an illusion
too thin for light
as police approach.

After pepper spray,
shields and tear gas,
they aim and shoot,
not to hurt, or kill

but to check if the blood
of a college freshman
is red enough

or can be redder.