LOVE SONG 4 AMERICA

Break-up Poem for America
              (with apologies to Walt Whitman)

Oh America, you sad failed experiment,
lt was lovely while it lasted.

People tried to warn me
They said that you were faithless
Professing everything
Remembering nothing
Fueled by lust and self interest
Always afraid of commitment

They said you were heartless
At your worst, you were violent
Your sweetest words coming
Just after the black eyes and broken jaws

But I loved you anyway. Yes
I thought they were jealous of us, America
You were young and impulsive
This time it would be different I imagined

Because I could see the wild beauty
In your grain fields and skyscrapers
Your railroads and ballot boxes
Plates of hominy and cowboy boots
Even your corruption

I remember the good times
Shay's rebellion and the Liberty Tree
Seneca Falls Convention
The New Deal   Woodstock
You were the cool rebel
But I knew you would protect me

I dreamed we could go anywhere together.

We did have our moments
Even as the fire hoses tumbled blacks
Marching for a seat at the front of the bus
You told me about the view from the mountain top
And I could see it then

It's been tough between us, America
But I always believed your promises
That you would settle down to your responsibilities
As you got older and wiser
Try to love your huddled masses
And it is hard to contain multitudes

I told myself ...

But it's been bad for so long
Chicago’68  Kent State
Watergate  Iran-Contra
Exxon Valdez  Somalia  Waco
Florida  Ohio  Abu Ghraib
Katrina  Guantanamo

Now there's nothing left to believe in,

You've watered the tree of liberty
With the blood of so many innocents
The soil can't hold the roots
And it's a truism:
The ones who can't keep plants alive
Make lousy marriage material

I have to finally admit
It’s over between us
I tried, America
I really did
But in the end, it just didn't work out
And I don't think we can still be friends

because it's not me; it's you.

                            --TRAVIS KOPLOW  Fb Friend

Word Girl

TK

 

Comments

[Mr. Fantastic]

[this is good] "Give me your hungry, your tired your poor I'll piss on 'em
That's what the Statue of Bigotry says
Your poor huddled masses, let's club 'em to death
And get it over with and just dump 'em on the boulevard"

Lou Reed, Dirty Boulevard

[Ghislain]

The writer is a friend of mine, Reed, although I may have mangled the original a slight bit for effect. Anyway, I think you nailed it and I have forwarded your comment to her. I do feel like she is trying to metaphor more with broken love and some other concepts that Lou Reed's quote.