The Root Cause

if i must rage
it should be polite
a stifled child
no longer bright

but in me
there's fight
so "I rise"
an eagle
bolder than night
"eyes on the prize"
stars shining
where "the mountain top" lies

rooted
in our loving mother
seeds of wonder
watered beyond arduous struggle
each baby step marking
the capacity we share
free of labels
boxing us in
til we're unable

blinding paralysis
the gaping holes
left unpatched
as we free fall
through the cracks
no safety net
to break the crash

the American Dream
a hypocrisy
its lies of meritocracy
providing ladders
without rungs
life sentences
of living in cages
blocked from the sun
bandaids
for the needy
when only tourniquets
can stop the bleeding

economic conscription
a societal prescription
like a flag waving
WHITE
beckoning surrender
subjugating subjects
into objects, ready to kill
without knowing why
beneath the public's closed eye

black lives out of sight
absent from all that is
black and white
but can we ignore a child's cry
behind the double speak law
No Child Left Behind
running kids out of school
with robotic tests
labeling the underserved
hope- l e s s
a failure to thrive

ready to die
behind the ghetto walls
of apartheid
targeted by recruiters
with pie in the sky lies
to be proud to serve a country
refusing to serve you
having left you behind

prison walls
silencing rage
righteous anger
spun into fear
a horror film of "aliens"
shielding our eyes from NAFTA
the way some churches talk about the HERE AFTER

lobotomizing minds
the lowest common denominator
wages
yours and mine
from north to south
and then across the line
unnamed human lives
LOST
a disregard for social costs
our earth on fire
having been sold
to the biggest buyer

WHITE lies, WHITE collar crimes
ameriKKKa
A democratic nation
An advanced civilization
concealing casualties of greed
PTSD
Iraqis, displaced and deceased

while bailed-out billionaires
thieving liars
declare:
guns for hire
freedom fighters
so why the surprise
when America
tops the list
as " The World's Bloodiest Terrorist"?

a mired EMPIRE
U.S. imperialism, under fire