THESE UNITED STATES

Let me begin by saying
That God
Does not give
A shit
About these
United states of America

A country that would ask its
Citizens to unite under the banner
Of ubiquity.. Sameness..
Under a flag with stars whose
Points no longer point to
Freedom but to greed
Keep what belongs to us
Screw everyone else

Which would maybe make sense
If any of the things that
“Belonged to us”
Actually belonged to us
But in a nation where the
Crux of the culture
Is a dream that
Asks no questions of its
Means to an end

I have to ask
What are we fighting for?
Surely we can understand
One another
Surely we can have diplomacy
Dialogue, discourse
I’m done talking
While the serpent’s tongue still flicks
Swiftly into the air to taste the
Tension and the rage
The hatred and unrest
The fear that found a home
In our soil centuries ago that
Has grown nearly unchecked
And allows rights for a few like...

Checking bags at the
Airport for a “random” strip search

Checking the visa at customs
Shaking heads and “send them
Back where they came from”

Pulling over a car for that
Broken tail light
For the broken promises
Like “All men are created
EQUAL”

Who am I, you ask, to dare speak
Ill of the nation that gave me breath
Well let me tell you,
Until the breath of every man, woman,
And child is what we promise to protect
Then I will never claim this place as
My home, as the place where I belong

If a father abuses his children
He may be the man who gave them
Life
But he has no right to be angry
If they walk away from his
Name

America has been breaking backs and bones and hearts for so long
How many more of our leaders
Must sponsor suffering before
They are torn to the ground?
Anger is a volatile fuel,
But I am tired of adding names
To the list
Of those murdered by our protectors
Of those betrayed by our systems
Of those sent back to their deaths
By arbitrary borders
And heinous prejudices

We should be tired
We should be angry

The greatest mistake this nation
Could make
Is to believe that we are done
Fighting
And that any God worth worshipping
Would allow her name
To be invoked in the name
Of your ignorance

Stay vigilant
Cuz we are coming for you
Then you will have real reason
To be afraid

12.5.17