America the Beautiful

 

The sun is rising on a free land

The cool, blue ocean washes ashore

Capitalism wakes up to grasp your hand

And the government politely asks for more

 

Birds sing, and clouds pass by

The rivers flow, and wind gusts blow

Divorce makes the children cry

Life dissipates and they don’t even know

 

Flowers grow along the rich countryside

Horses and cows take bites from their hay

A young boy runs home from school to hide

And acres of trees are cleared in a day

 

Dolphins and whales jump in the open sea

Mist softly floats away from a waterfall

In a home where life sits as misery

And an unwatched baby learns to crawl

 

Snow carefully descends and rain truly cascades

Dragonflies skim across the calm lagoon

So far behind our power slowly fades

World War III and the last word is platoon

 

Love attempts to make it real

The desert sands smooth and curve

Police corruption worsens the deal

And the racist south doesn’t even swerve

 

A writer writes down his heart

A painter paints out his mind

Hollywood offers another part

And she takes him back one more time

 

Plants gulp in energy from the sun

Fields of vegetables bathe in fresh rain

Another prison inmate tries to run

And a mother’s heart feels the pain

 

The silence of the lush forests

The warmth of great memories

It feeds off innocent tourists

And crashes taking mens' salaries

 

Ocean cargo liners make their voyage

Carl Sagan dreams of outer space

Somehow taxes are avoided

And cigarettes win another case

 

Another prison wall is erected

Another death comes unexpected

Senior citizens are not protected

Doctors and Teachers disrespected

 

Oxygen flows from the sea to our lungs

The military welcomes our daughters and sons

The city nightlife keeps gangs on the run

It’s killing us slowly with millions of guns

 

The billions of souls deserve life

America rewards a standard

Millions there accept it and move on

Yet billions live happy or just do

Troubled souls deserve freedom

My home is where my heart is

Connected to the spirit of the dream

Perhaps still stuck in the sixties

Living off the traces found today

Searching all over the world

For an answer to my soul

For I am too fortunate

To ask for anything more

A roman of the roman empire

A member of the free world

A victim of not being a victim

And so much I do not know

 

 

                        2005  Jake Belmont