My America
I’ve been chased out of southern states
Not by my merit or reason other than my race.
I’ve been ridiculed in school
Although I am smart with means to prove.
I’ve been discriminated in stores
People see only color and nothing more.
My ancestors did not come here on purpose.
I’m the line of unwanted “property.”
My rights are stated but robbed of me.
Where am I in the anthem, beneath the surface?
I know a different reality than others.
My life swept under the rug, unstated,
But my potential contribution underestimated.
I want not an apology, just a brother.
We have no universal health care,
Our crime rates are higher than in Iraq,
Officers shoot citizens in the back,
Not to mention nuclear scares.
How can we hate our neighbors?
I’ve seen hate in the eyes of those who claim to be hated
But still we must display compassion, will the stones of history be faded?
Our jobs are not our true labors.
I have more faith in the Stars and Stripes.
We unite only through belief,
Ideology heals our grief.
A revolution of the intellectual type.
Until then, I will strive for progress
Reframe the future without distress.
X-ray examination of my character
Displays the words “God bless America.”