R. Yael Weissburg

We brought two priests with us today:
Father Tom and Father John.

The judge is less unkind when they are with us,
and today is bound to be unkind.

This judge, Seminerio, seems to take pleasure
in the ritual of humiliation,
celebrating the liturgy of cruelty over his iniquitous flock;
demanding penance, but offering no mercy,
issuing orders of removal as divine retribution.

Seminerio.
Spanish, for Seminary.

I wonder, how did his people arrive here?
From Mexico? Ecuador? Peru?
Did they come on Spanish ships, preaching Christ?

Did his grandmother, young and pregnant, also flee violent men?

January 12, 2026

R. Yael Weissburg is an accompaniment volunteer in the San Francisco Bay Area, accompanying undocumented immigrants to their asylum hearings and ICE check-ins. A long-time lover of poetry, she was moved to begin documenting her experiences in the immigration enforcement system as a way to metabolize the grief and rage she experiences, and as a witness of its cruelty. These poems mark her first published work.

This poem appears in Uprooted: Poems of Resistance, Witness, and Survival (The Chaos Section Poetry Project, Fall 2026). We’re sharing each poem from the collection individually over the coming weeks. You can read the full book or download the free PDF here.