A Gilded Rock

My April 3rd poem for NaPoWriMo 2012

A gold-plated rock lies on this continent.
From sea to shining sea it stretches,
Trumpeting its name: America.

Trumpeting the outward gold;
The outward shine and shimmer
Of gilded wealth,
Of brightness,
Of democracy and
Equality.

But there are cracks both here and there
Of what is underneath the plating;
Of what the golden thing
Never wants to trumpet:

The ridges and grooves
Of suburbs and ghettos,
Alike in dignity, but separate in height.
The craggy rifts between black and white
Grains.
Alike in dignity, but separate in position.
The grains of rock which put on gold
Towering over the others.

A rock disguised in gold lies on the continent.
From sea to sorrowful sea it stretches,
Trumpeting its  name: America.

Author's Note

What do you think?