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WE: A Poem
Mona Lisa Saloy
Not
you, not me, not he, not she, just us
We the
people. We the brave.
We the
heart. We the folk.
Not
Republican, not Democrat
Not
Independent.
Not
Christian, not Jew,
Not
Muslim, not Catholic
Not
Bahai, not Buddhist
Not
Mormon, not Methodist
Not
Lutheran, not Anglican.
We,
together for
Our
greater good,
Not
upper class
Not
lower class, not middle class,
Not
white, not Black,
Not
Red, Not Brown,
Not
Yellow like the sun,
Only
us, a
Force
against ignorance, a
Coat
of We
To
comfort the afflicted.
We,
wrapped in together
A
brace for cold or war or wind
A
shelter against poverty and pain,
We,
bread for a nation of neighbors,
A
foundation for our future,
Neighbors to the world,
To
work against poverty
Defend
the helpless
Promote justice
Advance liberty.
We the
people
Must
remember:
"America! America!
God
sheds His Grace on thee
And
crown thy good
In
brotherhood . . . ." [1]
America, it is to us this land
of
black and brown and red and white, yellow
from
sea to shining face to hug our faith
our
parents made as firm as bold past strain
not
prejudice not poor, but our future,
our
folk to build a safe big world, and free
our
land, the world, neighbors, all of us, forever.
We,
all of us--
Actors
to carpenters, cooks to caregivers, bakers to farmers,
postal workers to fishermen, artists to engineers--
We the
people
Are
one nation
Here
to honor
The
good, the great
Our
leaders who work
To
wake us--
We,
sometimes, drunk
From
the muck
Of the
world--
To
make life better,
You,
who show courage
In the
face of cowardice
To
save the world.
Liberty Medal Recipients:
We
honor your Work.
"Lift
every voice and sing
‘Till
earth and heaven ring
Ring
with the harmonies
Of
liberty . . . ." [2]
We
honor your work,
How
you call us
How
you urge us
Into
one people
For
our greater good.
President George H.W. Bush and
President William J. Clinton,
We honor your work.
We the
people, honor your work:
for
our nations: Yes
for
our peace: Na’m[3]
for
our world: Shi
[4]
for
our hopes: Oui
[5]
for
our good: Kayn
[6]
for
our future: Hi
[7]
for
our neighbors: Ja
[8]
for
one world: Neah
[9]
for
our posterity: Si
[10]
for
our common good: Oh Oh.[11]
We give thanks.
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End Notes
[1]. From the song "America the
Beautiful." Words by Katharine Lee Bates; melody by
Samuel Ward.
[2].
From the song "Lift Ev’Ry Voice and Sing," also known as
"The Black National Anthem." Words by James Weldon
Johnson; melody by J. Rosamond Johnson.
[3].
Arabic for yes.
[4].
Chinese for yes.
[5].
French for yes.
[6].
Hebrew for yes.
[7].
Japanese for yes.
[8].
German, Swedish for yes.
[9].
Korean for yes.
[10].
Spanish and Italian for yes.
[11]. Tagalog for yes. Tagalog is
one of the major languages of the Philippines, has a
close affinity with Malay languages [Bahasa
Indonesia/Malay], and is the second most commonly-spoken
Asian language (after Chinese) in the United States,
according to the 2000 United States Census. It is also
the sixth non-English language spoken in America. 6
http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Tagalog/Tagalog_mainpage.htm.
* *
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First Published in Ishmael
Reed’s Konch Magazine
http://www.ishmaelreedpub.com/
posted 29 October 2006 |
