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| Common Domain |
I declare
"This land is my land"
You declare
This land is yours.
From sea to trash filled sea!
Is it our land? Was it ever? Will it ever be.
Is it a land calling out to everyone
A "home of the brave and the free"--
Is it a place rid of prejudice, a home for free thought.
From its declarations to its set of rules, what have we wrought.
For it we've shed the blood of boys, innocents who believed
And more who never knew anything of creed.
Clustered now, today celebrating "freedom"
From England, and now we're a land of
Anglophiles building on her language by choice
Her Magna Carta, her inherent sense that
The people (all the people) should have a voice
In government, that common good should rule;
That to invest too much in One is to play the fool.
How can this ideal exist with capitalist greed.
How can we trust the power mad to provide what we need.
How can we know our neighbors can be kind and good
When "media" and journalists hawk that all of that brings ruin.
Can we mend from all these wars, from the differences that divide;
Can we rejoice in the eccentricities of people that will override.
Can we celebrate that inherently we choose to be the middle
That giving up first place, living just and tolerant solves the riddle.
Another year - counting eleven score and sixteen
We've fought to hold it all together
A young country yet and it could still be so much better
Shouldn't we make a vow in this election year
To use our votes and voices and make the message clear
That out of many comes a one that means good for all
That holding hands, caring, not hating, might prevent the fall.
© Gay Reiser Cannon * July 3, 2012 * All Rights Reserved
Posted for OpenLinkNight hosted 7.3/7.4 2012 @dVersePoets Pub
Hosted by Claudia Shoenfeld
hear here....i hear you...an honest appraisal of what our country is at...and i can only wish but we seem ever more dividing and heading to a class bases union if we are not there yet...those that can buy government decisions and those that must live with them...nice to see you get political ma'am...smiles.
ReplyDeleteI hate the polarization. We have to take responsibility even if it means returning to do our own research on candidates and not being spoon fed spin, lies, innuendo by paid for television ads. Then we have to show common courtesy for dissenting opinions and go to the polls and vote or more if necessary.
DeleteI will join your choir! So many unanswered questions, very little resistance to our bullying and policing the world, few willing to make the sacrifices required, and don't get me started on the fact that no one is discussing overpopulation anymore.
ReplyDeleteHappy to have you! I know and generally I don't get like this - but it's too easy to stick one's head in the sand. There are good people, but politics now is like being an actress was in the 1900s and before...seedy and with stigma attached.
DeleteAbsolutely fantastic dissection of patriotism and political perspectives. It seems to me that we spend so much time arguing over ownership, political popularity, and discourse....that we actually miss what is or has ACTUALLY happened or is happening!!!....I certainly feel this in the uk- where we have no real notion of culture or history (there IS one- we just choose to ignore it)... And I can imagine the same happening in the US....this is a complex but very well considered piece....Very nice indeed- and just in time for independence day?
ReplyDeleteThank you. I think one could point definitely to Rupert Murdoch in all English speaking countries for lowering the level of debate and causing a chaos to pull down institutions of all kinds.
DeleteSo true... I do hope things get better soon. Until then, have a great 4th of July.
ReplyDeleteYou too, Laurie.
DeleteA "home of the brave and the free"- this is what i always thought it is when i heard about america - and i think this spirit is still there though you're going through hard times as a country at the moment from what i see and hear - happy independence day and i love the honesty but also the reflecting on the roots in your poem
ReplyDeleteWell this is a country of immigrants and pioneers and many are brave, but most people are brave. We may not be quite as free as we could be or once could have been. Each person needs to stand up, research, make up his/her own mind of the facts. Too many men listen to hate mongers on talk radio and way too many women listen to men and don't stand up and vote for their own interests, yes even now.
Deleteyou say so much here. i really like the concept of how we had a revolution, but we are anglophiles anyway. i also like how you make a plea for the vote. but the vote is a big problem since so many of the nominees are pandering to the religious factions, and religion takes away our liberty, takes away our independence. it's all a step backwards.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was young, "freedom of and from religion" was discussed continually - on the radio, in newspapers and it seems to me around the dinner table. Nothing was more important to people who were children of immigrants that we did not fall prey to the control of any religion or the regulation of their lives by it. So much has changed that it absolutely shocks me. From the same pulpits who espoused separation comes the plea for a reuniting of church and state. I think though,that day will not come. Religion has made quite a mess of things in recent years. It comes down to education. We must teach people history and how to read, how to learn, so that they may think.
DeleteThought-provoking poem, Gay. Perfect for tomorrow's celebration. May we never take things for granted.
ReplyDeleteRight On Victoria!
DeletePowerfully worded and asking some uncomfortable questions. Thanks for sharing a cup at my place. ;)
ReplyDeleteI like that you removed those periods between U and S in the title. I've grown so tired of the lying and greed and especially the politics. To use that cliched phrase, just imagine . . . US.
ReplyDeleteSo many questions left unanswered...a great poem. Happy 4th to you.
ReplyDeleteWell said, Gay. There are a lot of soap boxes out there right now, but not nearly enough people with this sort of message--which is actually helpful, which is actually what I think of as classically American--talking from them. I have noticed our culture becoming so oblivious to what gave it birth, and that was the pain of actually thinking for itself. No one seems willing to wrap their head around anything more complex than a football game any more. And ditto everything said above about the noxiousness which has become organized religion.
ReplyDeleteYes - I think all those things drove me to write this. 7/4 is an important date in our history, our lives, and has particular poignancy for me -- it was my wedding day.
DeleteStrong emotions and no fear to express your thoughts. That is a part of freedom. I enjoyed the energy of your piece and your journey for answer. Some ask why and don't seek. Some seek while asking why. I like the power in your "why."
ReplyDeleteThank you Henry!
DeleteI hear ya - in Australia we resist nationalism except at major sporting events - I love the way you interrogate your national anthem
ReplyDeleteYes one needs to pull apart cliches every so often and doubt their veracity, just as one needs to find out if the things one hears about political leaders are truth, fiction or some where in the middle. One needs to see if one can find the real story.
Deleteshare your sentiments so much here Gay - but also know why you celebrate this day only too well (UK) - 'How can this ideal exist with capitalist greed.
ReplyDeleteHow can we trust the power mad to provide what we need.' - we feel exactly the same way - 'That out of many comes a one that means good for all
That holding hands, caring, not hating, might prevent the fall.' and share your hope for this - sending my love and best wishes - Lib
Thanks Lib, always appreciate your support.
DeleteDivided we are falling.
ReplyDeleteYes - the enemy within may be greater than any enemy without.
DeleteThis is powerful Gay! Very searching questions, very thoughtful and very political.It runs smack at a lot of wrongs by those pushed through greed. Great verse!
ReplyDeleteHank
Thank you Hank. I appreciate your comments as always.
DeleteMost certainly to be labled a 'classic.' This poem is going places. It is masterful. Its timing--impeccable. Thank you for setting to page this gorgeous poem.
ReplyDeleteEmmett I already told you how much your comment means to me. Also how much I liked yours this week.
DeleteI like the rhythm of this, the sheer guts of your words. I love a passionate write, and woman for that matter... Preach it sista! Love this Gay :)
ReplyDeleteI love strong women. I loved your poem. I believe we have the power to make real change in the world at this time. It will take real courage though. We haven't completely knocked down the glass ceiling.
Deleteclinical craft Gay
ReplyDeletecutting into the core -
questions must be asked!
driven and thoughtfully
executed
Concise as always - you nail the actions and what needs to be done.
Deleteyes, yes, that is exactly what we should do! here's hoping....
ReplyDeleteYes I think so!
DeleteBeachanny for President!..and why not?)
ReplyDeleteThis actually made me laugh out loud and long! Not me - but others absolutely. It's time for more women to take their places at the top. The Brits have moved to have the first born royal in line for succession regardless of gender. That's a big step in their book but it's due to the realization that the Queens may have done a more responsible job than the Kings. I say it is likely we can do as well or better in elected positions too.
DeleteOur move to allowng the firstborn of either gender to inherit the throne is more in recognition that this is the 21st century and gender roles have changed - rightly in my view.
DeleteThe brilliance of our constitutional monarchy is that we don't get to elect the head of state, thus removing that role from the sphere of politics. Of course, it requires that the monarch steeer clear of politics, which Queen Elizabeth has done brilliantly. Many others have not been so wise.
Love your voice here Gay ~ There is so much more your country can do and give to the world and its citizens ~
ReplyDeletePerhaps less would be more. We have to be helpful and not meddlesome. Getting people up on their own feet and not exploiting them would be a major step.
DeletePowerful thoughts, great write!
ReplyDeletestrong piece. Really like how questions frame and then remain a large part of the overall theme. Definitely a piece that I'm certain many of us are and have been contemplating thoughts along this line. Great write. Thanks
ReplyDeleteI love the strength and passion of this piece, and that you are not scared to ask the really important questions. Has the US lived up to the vision of its founding fathers, or has it fallen far short of the ideals that they struggled for?
ReplyDeletePassionTely spkoen, truly said. I fear for the country, whether headed for an American form of fascism or not. The ideals of the revolution fought by the firefathers and mothers, the real revolution of Jefferson, all of that commonly held belief in self-reliance and freedom loving individuals, threatened by so many political machinists, ideologues turning the country into liberty-hating, neighbor despising, religious fanatics with no conception of God beyond their wallets. Your poem lays it down, sets it all up for all to see. We need poets to create the vision once more of what this land can be.
ReplyDeleteHear! Hear! Bravo! You said it all, and said it so well! Let us all vote right, pray right, and do right! Wonderfully wrought here, Gay!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the strength of your well-expressed viewpoint. I think we all can do better. Not just USA, but every country that makes up this world.
ReplyDeleteso beautifully said--raw and true. "A young country yet and it could still be so much better."--with eleven score and sixteen under our belts, you would think we were that young, but we truly are babes who are still growing and learning--there is no doubt we could do better. an excellent call to arms (where the weapon is our voice and not our fists).
ReplyDeleteWow, this was totally unexpected, but what an appropriate theme - and so eloquently put. Especially on a day when the nation's focus is on a celebration of the past, how appropriate to turn the spotlight on the present, and on the future that you still have the power to create.
ReplyDeleteMay your hopes come to pass!
ReplyDeleteSo much to consider here... I really enjoyed this!
ReplyDeleteThoughtful.....enjoyed....
ReplyDeleteAnd why not! Poetry being useful? Why not indeed!
ReplyDeleteSometimes I ask myself why I write poetry.
It sounds good...makes me feel free...feel everything...
Ah but poetry can ask and can shape and can compel.
Compel a better world into being!
I'm really late to read this, but wow, what a great message! I'd vote for that any day!
ReplyDeleteYes, we are a young country yet...but seems like we are losing what was once a much stronger foundation...we've got to "get a grip!" Beautifully and passionately put, Gay...I add my voice to yours!
ReplyDeleteStrong message - but not too many chances of being heard! People get upset, angry; they don't reason so clearly and there's so much effort spent on obfuscation. k.
ReplyDelete