The American Dream? – poem by Leela Soma
Tribes that stayed true to nature, Cherokee, Apache
Sioux overpowered decimated and sent to reservations
The red of their veins in the soil of the nation
The blue of the settler’s eyes reflected in the sky
The white of foaming rivers trailing in the ships
Of enslaved men, women and children from Africa
They built this nation forged in red, white and blue
The stars in the firmament laid witness to the
Stripes laid on souls of colour of every hue
Freedom, independence to a select few
Wealth and fortune amassed, wants unsatisfied
Needs of the rest ignored in the race to be on top
But will this nation value life more?
The innocent who perish by the gun
Slaughtered in vain, red stripes on virgin white
Renounce the right to bear arms?
replace it with the right to live in peace
Without weapons, in civilised harmony?
Born of the gun, by the gun, for the gun
Conceived in Liberty, that all men are equal
Is it the land of the free, and the home of the brave?
Leela Soma, June, 2015
This section: Leela Soma writing and blogging, stories and poems, Writing
Filed under: Leela Soma writing and blogging, stories and poems, Writing
Prevous page or post | Next page or post
Written by : Pat Byrne
One response to “The American Dream? – poem by Leela Soma”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Related Pages
- Storytelling for Adults, Mary Edward – Blending Fact and Fiction review Pat Byrne
- Melancholia by Nina Quigley
- The Buttery, A True Glasgow Institution, review by Pat Byrne
- Mika and Me Optical Studios – Exclusive Chanel Event
- Glasgow Writers: Willy Maley
- Ashlyn’s 18th at Topolabamba, Glasgow
- Close Range Coulport – poem by Finola Scott
- Celebrating Leela Soma and Murder at the Mela
- Alan Sharp and From Greenock to Hollywood at the Glasgow Film Theatre
- To See Ourselves – film about the lead up to the Scottish Referendum in 2014
- Mary Irvine’s Blog: The Magic Scales by Paul Murdoch
- Cast A Cold Eye – Robbie Morrison
- Secret Wrapped in Lead by Braw Clan
- Glasgow Writers: Pauline Lynch
- Mary Irvine: Review of ‘Gods of the Crossroads’ by Robin Lloyd-Jones
- SCCAN Stories for Change – PLACE Workshop
- Mary Irvine’s Blog: Review of Warp and Weft by Ann MacKinnon
- Home Grown In Glasgow – a poem for International Women’s Day by Ruby McCann
- Le Vent du Nord, Celtic Connections 2023
- Best Laid Schemes – Dexter Gordon Place
Find myself returning to Leela’s poem time and time again this year, for all the sad and wrong reasons. America’s blinkered approach to firearms, the west’s ignorance of other cultures and situations…. This poem just grabs it all.