“And I should like to be able to love my country and still love justice. I don’t want any greatness for it, particularly a greatness born of blood and falsehood. I want to keep it alive by keeping justice alive.” – Albert Camus

When children by gunfire die,
when the dreamer and the warden clash,

when statues betray the sculptor, we proclaim
This is not who we are.

Who are we?

I take my chisel to Plymouth Rock
but the rock gives no blood;

our history is like that stone,
heavier than its weight…

Standing at a dank underpass, I rattle
a tin cup, wave a sign that reads

This is not who we are—

I can grow rich here, devote my life
to the pursuit of happiness…

It is said that upon his murder, Lincoln belonged
to the ages: Why do we wait for blood?

We’ve planted great forests of headstones.
I wander their lush paths, the sanguine streams,

and amidst this grandeur, this horror,
I glimpse both what is and what could be.

Sunday, August 18, 2019