In America

In America

In America we get
mud wrestling and drive through liquor stores
In America we don’t get
many reasons not to leer or drink

In America we get
bales of weed washing up everywhere
In America we don’t get
enough drugs to kill all the people we put on Death Row

(I’m sure we’ll figure it out)

In America we get
a good feeling about this next scratch ticket
In America we don’t get
enough cash for water or even enough water to buy

Meanwhile, I’m thinking…

In America

In America

In America we know
exactly how much our dream costs
In America we don’t know
exactly where to find that dream 

In America we know
how many malls it takes to bury all the dead Indians
In America we don’t know
how to talk about a live Indian or even where to find one

In America we know
every mass shooting is inexplicable
In America we don’t know
how many shootings it will take before we figure it out

In America

In America

In America there’s

enough hate
to fill one million boxcars
Enough weight in them
to break one hundred thousand crumbling bridges 
Enough broken bridges 
to fail under ten thousand marches for cause
Enough causes 
to spark a thousand arguments
Enough arguments 
to sunder one hundred dreams
Enough dreamers
to dream up maybe ten full nights of safety in a year
Enough years…
have there been enough years
to look at it all and say
this year will be the last year?

In America 

In America

In America we do
whatever we need in order to buy
In America we don’t
agree on what our best words mean

In America we do
the worst to the least and call it the most
In America we don’t
hear the least say the worst or ignore it at most

In America we do 
what we want and say it’s borne upon God’s breath
In America we don’t 
admit that the one true religion
our own true religion
our loss leader religion is

evangelical
ecumenical
fundamentalist
capitalism

There’s fire on the altar
Fire on the altar
Fire in the church
Bullets in the church
Bullets

in America

In America

and meanwhile, I’m still thinking…