us

....is it all about us?

They go through toilet paper

Like wrapping paper for the gifts they never get

 

They go through water like wine

Except Jesus never touched

And they rarely touch something that gives them hope

 

They are the forgotten

Yesterday today and tomorrow

 

Next day couldn’t come quicker

The next year couldn’t grow slower

Holding on to the optimistic sillydom that

Santa Clause will save the days of old and new

Bringing them gifts of all things needed

Like a home

And a mom

 

What conundrum?

What infection?

 

They are the martyrs

Sacrificing themselves for humanity

Waiting it out until someone cares

Some waiting too long

And we never show

We never knock on their door

With a hug and a meal

We never send them a brand new toy

Or at least the old ones our children are no longer content with

We never go

To the land of the children who have no hope

And don’t even know it

So used to being without

They forget they show it

Big bellied scratchy skin the new fashion

Holes in shorts and pants

Popular only because everyone has them

Like aids

Fading into the sand of the land

We turn our backs on

Yet we bare the name

Or once did

 

So erased are we

So American based are we

That we forget our identity

Quick to defend but slow to admit

That it’s not really all it’s chocked up to be

Here, in the land of the free

Free, only because we sold out

Still paying on this debt

And can’t afford our own education

Yet Pinching fat pennies together to keep alive our entertainment

No sense of worth so we lurk

Near hives to shake and get shook for some honey

234 years of being all shook up

no wonder we’re confused

no wonder we stay in a daze

on the cusp of being unconscious and in a coma

not enough blood flowing to really feel

too much blood lost in the fields

turning blade on limb and arm

this suicidal history yields

our present condition

 

six feet under

and sinking

still

 

but what of others?

If we can’t stand on the buried backs of those before us

And be on solid ground,

How can we be their savior?

 

Trick question?

Trick country?

 

Let’s put some money

Where our founders’ mouth is

So everyone can eat

And not just U.S.

Author's Note

share your thoughts on subject, structure, everything....thx

Reviews

[SpokenWord]

I love our freedom of speech here in the U.S. I feel in many ways we have lost our voices in this country and truly lost heart as we no longer take a stand for anything of meaning. Back in the day this country was alive, it was free and we stood for something even if it was the wrong thing we stood up still. Now we are asleep at the wheel and just watching our leaders and big corporations do as they as please and we think because we voted that it mattered. I miss the voices in this country, I miss the activists, I miss our leaders who were assassinated for taking a stand. Your poem reminds me of them, the voices from the past that are alive in your poetry. Superb write and I am glad you entered it into the contest.

Bravo

[J.W.]

It's not hard to tell that this came straight from your very heart and soul, there is so much feeling and complexity. There's quite a distinction in your writing style, which seems to emit your words in a unique and unfamiliar way.

[Zeitgeist Manifesto]

It truly is time to get our priorities straight in this temporal world.
You put a lot of thought into this poem and it is obvious that you
care about the well being of others as much as your own.

[Dream Weaver]

This is the most intelligent piece I've read in quite a while.
Perfect in imagery, perfect in definition and all around a
very profound read!