Every minute of the day
It’s the American way
I only ever tried
To sell myself
Often failing miserably
(but stuck with it)
Things that chap your ass
Are easily remedied
If you’ll just get off of it
And take care of business
Now that would make
A good advertising slogan
(with a patriotic ring)
To help boost the economy
O America
Is there any hope for you now?
Whitman saw it all folding out
Into a glorious panorama
Scaling mountains
Pulling myself cautiously up
And it was good.
Hold onto that romantic vision
America
America
Like the buffalo you decimated
It may yet make a comeback one day
When neighbor stops hating neighbor
And brother stops killing brother
Oh hey
Listen to me
You can still hear that
Wide-eyed idealist
Boarding the bus to the airport
To board the plane
And wing his way over the ocean
To a brand new life
And all because he took a chance
And got off his ass
And followed his dream
Well said. I remember being upset when I was a kid and learned we had to pay for our land and water. We overslept the American Dream.
ReplyDeleteI love your last sentence. Describes where we are at beautifully!
ReplyDeleteI would get up off my ass, flee to another country but no one will let us in. Great write.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Helen! Isn't it ironic that we started barring people from coming in, and now we're getting the same treatment.
DeleteStart rowing your little boat....if the sharks dont get you.. you should arrive in a couple of years time...you can hide out in the outback...lot of things can kill you there...come to think of it...best stay where you are !:)
ReplyDeleteThat's what the TV keeps telling me...stay where you are! But I gotta run out to get some toilet paper!
DeleteIt's all such a sordid tale, and who'd have thought it'd apply to America the Beautiful. I tip my hat to the wide-eyed idealist. May he find his dream!
ReplyDeleteHe found it, back in the day. And it was good.
Deleteyour poem's last stanza holds motivation for me. thank you for that.
ReplyDeleteYou are quite welcome. Never feel that all is lost...until you've looked three days for your car keys.
DeleteA whole hearted cri de coeur here - well expressed and I feel your torment indeed - How the hell did it get to this? Some many of us are thinking just that... Let's hope there's a way back, before it all implodes on itself. With Best Wishes
ReplyDeleteThank you, my friend. If we were Hansel and Gretel, we would know the way back.
DeleteI enjoyed this poem for its grit and get-up-and-go feel. Bravo!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Vivian! Always good to hear from you.
DeleteMiracles do happen, when one gets off one's ass... and does.
ReplyDeleteSometimes the formula is just that simple.
DeleteA little stirring can achieve a lot, bravo well, said Timoteo
ReplyDeleteMuchđŸ’–love
Greetings to you, Gillena!
DeleteNow, even many self-styled spiritual teachers turn out to be offering ways to increase one's 'abundance'! It may well be true that spiritual doesn't have to mean poverty, but I don't think it means consumerism either.
ReplyDeleteThe hypocrisy dripping off them in their trappings of wealth and fame.
DeleteEscape while you can! The problem is, where to?
ReplyDeleteIt was much easier in my day, when every country wasn't barring the citizens from every other country.
DeleteThese days you don't have to board a plane and fly overseas to take a chance. Just step out your front door without a mask, and...
ReplyDeleteLOL. Good point!
DeleteHaving two is better than one but even better to have three (just in case one breaks - and it will.)
ReplyDeleteCarlin had a good commentary on "stuff".
Yes he did. It's a classic.
DeleteGreed is easy--it's easy to keep score, easy to lie about how it means something more than itself.
ReplyDeleteWell said. I doubt that anything means more than itself when you get right down to it.
DeleteAll those capitalist commercials that sing, "We're here for you during this difficult time." They want our money...that is what they should be saying.
ReplyDeleteYou've hit on one of my pet peeves...how quick they were to start promoting the "we're all in this together" BS in their commercials. They know how to play us, as always.
Delete