land of the free | poem

poetry

America will make you believe

anything is possible—

pray, work, consume,

study your first amendment.

*

and those anthem patriots

they have over there,

can make you feel—

big, loud, bold

is a way to be alive.

*

I first found America, aged seven

while watching West Side Story

James Baldwin entered life in later years.

*

but these days, it would appear—

the politicians th…