My parents gathered what he’d left of their bodies, trying to stand without legs, trying to defend his blows with missing arms,
Natalie Diaz talks about her family's reaction to her book after it came out and it adequately explains the verse here. They were still defending their son and said to Diaz, " That's not how it happened." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QROG4ZNhFS8
It was awful. Unforgivable. But they kept coming back for more. They loved him, was all they could say.
Parents are resilient to keep fighting for whatever ailment afflicts their son. What could it be?
he lived in our basement and sacrificed my parents
Trauma already has a numbing effect on the narrator.
Why and by whose power were you sent?
This reminds me of US border patrol and the questions you get asked when trying to get into the country. The ability to answer this very important question will make or mar your chances of getting past immigration.
"The United States Welcomes You" is a poem by Tracy K. Smith. I just discovered her work. The title is very important to the theme of immigration, as the United States is a country that welcomes citizens of diverse nationalities or so it may seem from just reading the title.