We the People
Inscribed on the Statue of Liberty
“Give me your tired, your poor,
your huddled masses, yearning
to breathe free, the wretched refuse
of your teeming shore. Send these,
the homeless, tempest tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”
Mother of Exiles
Brokering the ways of treason and
intimate violence, you now bring war
to our streets. The enduring dream
of community and country based on
realizing equality, precious and fragile,
is being lost. Behind a flag, a bible,
a train of endless lies, all your words
lift nothing and bring disgrace. Each
slight of hand and grifting distraction
invites hate and it is so easy to turn away
from taking responsibility. No goodness
can abide in deceit. We understand
what is better than this. For generations
our citizens have offered goodwill
and carried the decency to follow the law.
In this historic struggle, we will resist, hold
the line, find a way to take back the power
and voice of the common good. When justice
calls, and justice will call, your privilege
will be denied, a stronger scaffold will rise.
Behind bars you can heal what is broken
or go down failing in your own mad bunker.
As this timeless dream returns, we the people
will open the golden door.