the reframing
america america
who are you now?
your face has fallen in the twilight
the tears sit close to the surface
as the sun goes down
the roof of the house still stands
though it’s pelted by poisonous brick
shurled by traitors disguised as patriots
in rows of three piece suits and pearls
small birds nesting in nearby trees
chirp sharp warnings as they fly
up into clouds muddying blue sky
the eagle watching from a nearby tree
watered with the blood of patriots
wonders if its days are numbered
in this replay of cancerous history
we conquered generations ago
and thought buried for good
but those lessons though not forgotten
are being buried in an ages-old rhetoric
of hatred prejudice and ugly propaganda
denying the equality of our creation
as i one of those small birds chirping
tremble in the vicious winds
blowing up from the south
in from the east
© 2023 RC deWinter @rcdewinter.bsky.social
RC deWinter’s poetry is widely anthologized, notably in New York City Haiku (NY Times/2017),
The Connecticut Shakespeare Festival Anthology (River Bend Bookshop Press, 12/2021) New Contexts:3 Coverstory Books, April 2022) in print: 2River View, Event Magazine, Last Stanza Poetry Journal, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, the minnesota review, Plainsongs, Prairie Schooner, Southword, the ogham stone, York Literary Review among many others and appears in numerous online publications.
"in this replay of cancerous history" Powerful!