It’s been called the United States of America for a good long while. But let’s be honest, we’ve always ALWAYS been this divided. From the moment the first colonizers arrived, with their killing, looting, stealing and genociding. How do we get to unity when it’s never been on our map?
This is (Not) My America
look at the whole of the map
mandered or rigged,
it matters little what these jerrys did
the carving clinical for all those turkeys
in the red cages & blue cages
occasionally threatened
by purple rages
look at the whole of the map
the flyover states, the beer gut of America
the bloated persuasion that
it is the true America
the (lock)landed heart of America
tornado-torn & fond of porn
harvested & re-planted fields of self-absorption
the coastal elites with their fancy pants & skinny jeans
neither in my size
with their net worths & networks
their leagues ivy not intramural
their societies secret only after fully paid admission
(but completely free of admissions of guilt)
the Rust belt, with belts & boot straps
so rusted, so stripped of value
it’s impossible to pull up (except stakes)
only able to pull out
the desert Southwest
deserted of compassion
borders patrolled by trolls cold as ICE
unchanged, even the summer sun not quite hot enough
even with climate change boost juice
the dark tundra of Alaska
open & empty
voting machines & voting machinations
in plain sight
for the Russians who can see their
White House
in the NW corner, Pacific looming
vineyard booming, rugged progressive grooming
sleepless rainy Emerald City, Portland fame
ancient golden city in a golden state
gold showers over its
gold mines & moving picture show gold mine
over snowy Rock-capped mountains, past geyser gusting
more hot gas & hot water than guys will be guys politicians
over lands reserved for the only ones that didn’t
immigrate or assassinate or dominate
the big red state with its big pink rock
capital; campaigns against science & history
front line in the war on women.
it’s almost as if the other 49 were forgotten
or the outshined sun hurricane state, the tail or the prick of America
ass wagging between gulf and sea
let’s look up
the south, with its blown-up churches & blown up
cinemas & blown up night clubs
bright white terrors glowing
in these dark days America
winter trees not hanging leaves
up up up the coast from outer banks to
Wall St banks
past the swamp capital of America
stench stretching from sea to shining sea
bounce through the original colonies
the witches burn better on wood stakes
bonfire lines
the genocide starting line
the white supremacy dancing country western line
and then finally to the harbor
where you must imagine the shadow of two towers
it is Lady Liberty, her torch now a flashlight
barely enlightening the world from the great
Porte of the World
behind her the contiguous states of America
doused in darkness, covered in a patchwork quilt
and no e pluribus unum to kick off the covers
©David Siller – 2021
*****
For the first 100 days of the Biden administration, this website will feature a new poem of What’s Next!? These pieces can be calls to action, calls to attention, or calls to anger. They will light the way and guide the fight. They will get us moving and keep our momentum. They will be filled with hope, with anger, with sorrow. They will get us into good trouble and point out the trouble we need to stop. They will be polished gems, or rough-cut drafts of rage, or in-process pieces searching for peace. They may be haiku or tanka, limericks or lyrics, verses free or fettered.
#100Days100Poems of What’s Next!? wants your poems, your prose, your visual art (photos, drawings, sculptures), your music, your short films and animations. Interpret the theme as broadly as you’d like.
If you would like to submit to this endeavor, please send an email, with your visual art (as .jpg or .pdf) or your poem saved as a word document (.docx) to waxyandpoetic AT gmail DOT com. Include a short bio (2-3 sentences) and social media/website information. All rights remain with the author. Please address any formatting preferences in your email. Waxyandpoetic.com will post submissions time permitting, with at least one per day beginning 20 January 2021.
Read, follow, share, submit, live, love, spread light! Don’t forget to use #100Days100Poems !
Waxy & Poetic 