A United State of Division

one America wants private and independent
the other wants public and shared everything
one America wants everyone to win
the other wants only to be the winner
one America is a warrior
the other a protector
one America is black, brown, tan, Spanish speaking, Chinese, African…
the other is ‘color-blind’, assimilated and American…first
one America believes in God
the other sees god but doesn’t need or want to believe
one America is female
the other will not be labeled
one America lives for peace
the other fights for peace
one America began at birth
the other at conception
one America is a victim
the other sees a victim as open prey
one America is black
the other is white and doesn’t understand why
one America is proud and courageous
the other completely denies the colonial, genocidal name

these are the lines drawn in the sand
they are dug deeper and deeper
in this flawed model of tolerating one another’s differences
that we call “civil society”

but the planet brutally reminds us
that sand shifts
shores erode
rivers overflow
mountains fall
lines blur
what was close is far away
the more entrenched
the less we understand
where we really are
and how far we can go

–ALD