AMERICA-20 delivers a gut-wrenching punch to the heart and to the soul of America. In my angriest work so far, the raw emotion and heartbreak can be felt on every page. Through poetry and prose, I grapple with the current state of America: the devastation of COVID-19, the outcry of the Black Lives Matter movement, the inhumanities of the Trump administration, the abandonment of God in America, the fear mongering of 24-hour news cycles, and so much more. In a nation on the brink of the Second Civil War, I scream into the void in the only way I know how: with written word.
here are some poems
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What Is A Country?
What is a country but borders drawn by hand and laws thought up by man? Who is to say which human being is legal and which is illegal In a stolen land? Who is to say which human is entering the right way When the American way was to enter by slaughtering the original owners of the land? What makes you deserving of being American And Others undeserving? You did nothing to earn your Americanness. Being born on American land was not some sort of feat, It wasn’t an accomplishment: It was happenstance-- The happenstance being the location of your mother’s uterus on the day you arrived on planet earth. You are not more deserving of the American lifestyle Because of that happenstance, And you are no better than anyone else Because of the location of their mother's uterus. All of us are human, We all have the same human DNA. Our minds do not differ, Nor our hearts, Nor our souls. If there is a god, Then we are all its children And every piece of land is our home. And if there is any god that shows preferential treatment toward its children based on the land that that god placed their mother's uterus on the day of their arrival, Then fuck that god. And if that somehow offends you and your idea of god then you need to think hard about what and who it is you think your god is. What makes you believe that a god would, for some reason, have more affinity for a country invented by man 244 years ago upon some land that that god created over 4.5 billion years ago than it does for any other piece of land? I would bet every American dollar I have that your god does not give a shit about America, Nor any country, For what is a country to a god? What is a country to you? What is a country but borders drawn by hand and laws thought up by man? What is a country? |
With Us Or Against Us
In America These days It is all or nothing: You’re either with us or against us, Racist or anti-racist, Evil or pure, Sinful or angelic. We cast stones at first movements, We are quick to judgment, We are unafraid to attack our allies If they don't speak the same as we do. We are angry, And justifiably so; But with anger, Rationale is often Thrown out the window. Bullets are too quick to fly, Innocent lives are lost, And none of us can win. We create mobs And join them Without always knowing What the mob Is fighting for. We are often judged By tidbits without context, Solidified as monsters For past mistakes We are now ashamed of And wish to rectify, We are stunted By association And made unable to grow Into the beautiful flowers We may have one day become. We are forced into corners, Forced into statements, Forced into boxes, Forced into shadows, Forced into societal cells For crimes sometimes misunderstood And often unintentional. We are amid a cultural revolution Where we warriors Are trying to lead While simultaneously learning How to fight And discovering Every day What exactly it is We are fighting for. We are an army Without a definitive leader To turn to For advice, For guidance, For reassurance, For mediation, For strategizing, For unity, For tranquility. We are angry, We are heartbroken, We are dissatisfied, We are untrusting, We are abandoned, We are disillusioned, We are disenfranchised, We are exhausted, And all we want to do is Fight Back! But while we have waited Far too long, We must also take a pause, We must assess the situation, We must find our allies And we must allow them to be flawed, For we must keep them by our side. Because if we estrange ourselves From potential allies For ignorances they wish To rid themselves from, Then we force ourselves to fight With fewer and fewer soldiers. If we alienate teammates, Destroy their lives, Wreck their images, Crush their existence, Then where else Do we expect them to go But against us? After all, in America These days It is all or nothing: You’re either with us Or against us. And I’d rather have more for us Than against. |