Have you ever
watched someone
alert
alive
trapped
stuck in concrete glue
reaching for cheddar
cheese in sight
unable to free themselves
from the grasp of struggle
energy
slowly draining
as they claw
to lift their head
enough
to breathe
one breath,
just before
letting go
I have

Have you ever
watched someone
chained
water
food just beyond their reach
slowly starving
desperately trying
to overcome
the gravity of
their situation
just before
being crushed
under the weight
of “Denial”
I have

Have you ever
watched someone
swing their arms wildly
kick frantically
reach for air
grab for anything
or anyone
they can get their hands on

short
panicked
breaths

eyes
wide
open

staring
at a man
teasing them
with a life raft
just before
being overcome
by the elements
I have

Have you ever
watched someone
just on the other side
of the tracks
success
opportunity
dreams
slowly
murdered
by poverty
lack of education
limited resources
unlikely to escape
their conditions
while the people
who were elected to
represent them
stand by
padding their
pockets
watching their
constituents
drown
in the
hopelessness
of ghetto despair
just before
sending them
to die
in a war
for more
riches
I have

Have you ever
watched someone
taken advantage of
by false
prophets
thieves
pillaging
pocketing profits
on promises
of delivering dreams
insufficient
Social Security checks
ripped from frail fingers
in exchange for
hope
in the form of
“Miracle Water”
“Prayer Cloths”
just before
everything they owned
was taken
I have

Have you ever
watched someone
kidnapped
forced
into prostitution
beat relentlessly
hope snatched
from wombs
by strange
men
daughters
pimped
for the almighty
dollar
just before
committing suicide
after they came to the realization
that the rainbow was not enough
I have

Have you ever
watched someone
get raped
by Priests
pushing
holy water
dipped fingers
deep in virgin wombs
helpless
children
pushed
to the brink
of insanity
in the name
of the Almighty
just before
being attacked
by the congregation
for speaking out
against their assailant
I have

Have you ever
watched someone
overwhelmed
by the pressure
of the rat race
turn to the sizzle
of crack pipes
poison their
suffocated veins
with rubber ropes
and dirty
needles
hoping
for a high
that will never end
and that their broken
dreams
will never resume
just before
tapping their arm
one last time
and pulling the trigger
on life
I have

I have
right here
in the land of the free
home of the brave
self proclaimed leader
of the free world
place where happiness
is something you buy
not something you have
not something you are

Have you ever
watched men
and women
and children
stand together
in unity
equipped with
determination
fortitude
engulfed in the spirit of humanity
as they work to repair lives
after they watched
the horror
of people jumping out of
collapsing buildings
earth shaking
hurricanes ravaging shorelines
houses ripped off their foundations
and man’s creations
washed to sea
like a gnat
being blown away
by the awesome power
of a kid
blowing out birthday candles
after making a wish
that his missing parents would
somehow find their way home
I have

I have
seen the worst
and the best
and no matter
how much negativity
I’ve seen
I see
I believe
America has a soul
buried deep in the hearts of the people
that if unleashed will lead us to new heights

Hope still exists
in America
it’s time for America
to stop letting the people down
and to become that dream
they claim to be