Liberty was ours
and not for them
to claim, our
country tis’
of thee sent them
away,
and all the saints had u.s.a. on their clothes.
we showed up late
in our don't-ask-don't-tell
of course we're right
ness and we
won and all
the bad men
shot themselves.
it was the day
our fingers didn't
point at the
sea anymore,
"climb aboard you
orphan poorthings"
and "let
the children
come to me
for my father's sake".
so late we were,
but better than
never, we were
such goodfellas
and such nice
heroes.
people waved
our flags and
said "god bless"
to neighbors they
couldn't stand.
our ladies cooked
and cleaned since
our men were
home from war
and women were
little more
than brooms and
baby-makers.
we let them
pledge allegiance
to us and
we'd cuss and call
them names and
make them worthless
slaves to our
republic.
the history
books love it
and they call
it the hollow cost
and uncle sam the
mockingbird
don't even sing.
Author notes
I went to the Holocaust Museum in D.C. I'm hoping I'll never have the privledge to go back again.
A contest entry
- show AND tell by Captain Redundant.
3000 points, ended April 28, 2008, 10 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 6 of 6
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Well Done
and high impact.
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Intriguing write ...
and I hope to never make that particular journey.
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Don't change a thing.
This piece is a show and tell that had me all ears and eyes. Excellent.
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i've been there but wasn't really able to take anything in because the musty smell aggrivated my cough and i was coughing most of the way.
but whatever i saw... it was humbling if by humbling you mean insanely frightening. -
It's a pretty humbling place, isn't it? I went there once a few years back; I think I still have the passport thing they gave me when I walked in. Really, it's the kind of place to go by yourself to; having company just doesn't let you absorb the true magnitude of it all. I went with my mother and sister then; should I ever go back, I might well be alone.
Was this from your trip to D.C. a few weeks/months ago? Or was it more recent?
I couldn't find anything in here to really criticize; knowing me, there are a few parts here and there I'd probably word differently, but doing that would no doubt defeat the purpose of this piece, so that's a no-no. Honestly though, this was good.
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Yes, very humbling. Yeah, it was a few months back. I've only been three times, and recently was the first time I went to this museum (I'm a sucker for museums). It was indeed eye opening.
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