Who am I? ‘My America’ and other poems exploring identity and diversity in the U.S.
April is National Poetry Month. We’ve invited readers from across the Central Coast to share their best original poems dealing with self-identity and diversity.
Here is a sampling of the poems. We will be posting new poems at sanluisobispo.com/entertainment/books throughout the month.
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Poems
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“My America”
By Janice P. Lynch, San Luis Obispo
My America is changing and I am saddened
I don’t want a colorless world filled with sameness
I live here to enjoy the diversity of mankind
And its many shades of humanity
I live here to be surrounded by those of many faiths
As well as the faithless
I live here to enjoy the freedoms fought for by many
Am I going to be forced to move?
Because of insanity and prejudice and narcissism
Because of power plays and politics and ignorance
What is happening to my rights?
To my country? To the land I love?
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“Inauguration Day”
By Gloria L. Velásquez, San Luis Obispo
Whitey’s in the White House
It’s time to Celebrate
Let’s Make America Great Again
This Happy Inauguration Day
Bring on those Scalp Hunters
Name your price
There’s a White Nationalist
going to the White House
Bring on the KKK!
Bring on the Minutemen!
It’s time to March
with the Women’s March!
Whitey’s in the White House
It’s time to Celebrate
Let’s Make America Great Again
There’s a new Trail of Tears
filled with Muslim Bans
Refugee Roundups
No more Marriage Equality
Make War Not Love
Let’s build that New Berlin Wall
“Let me take you higher.”
on Happy Inauguration Day
There’s a new Masta’ on the Plantation
Bring on La Migra!
Bring on Internment Camps!
It’s time to March
with the Women’s March!
Masta’ Whitey’s in the White House.
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“Women’s March 2017”
By Laurie Elmquist, Pismo Beach
With you,
we danced to the music of drums
shook our hips
carried signs so diverse
Some with race at their heart,
peace signs
and gender equality.
Save the trees, trails, and dunes.
We were teens, elders, and children,
rubbing elbows,
remembering veterans and their fight
for a free
and compassionate
America.
With you,
we danced until the rain poured down
the music grew distant
and we heard the swell of the ocean
steadying our steps
for the days ahead.
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“xoxo”
By Ken Habib, Grover Beach
xenophobes are likeable people
once you truly get to know Them
and love the hatred and intolerance
and dread borne of ignorance
who’s to say That
they don’t know of what they speak
as they layer etiquette and courtesy
atop supremacist ideology
what’s not to like
about people who kill
benevolently and just to Kill
and not have their fill
bigotry and racism are the province of kin
accommodating with walls and jails and coffins
the godforsaken origins and languages
and religions and Complexions
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“Identity …”
By Sharon E. Kimball, Avila Beach
There are those
who would divide us
based on race and gender,
economics and culture.
Don’t let them.
There are those
who would undermine
our Democracy,
our way of life.
Don’t let them.
Yes, we are unique
in personality and physiognomy,
in skills and talents,
but you and me,
we are really ONE …
forever connected
by shared DNA
from the same
Mother and Father,
forgotten by intervening
generations, geographics,
experiences and adaptations,
but still the same
inside
where it counts.
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“My True Identity”
By Mary Anne Anderson, Cambria
I am the scion of dreamers and seekers,
wives and mothers,
survivors of war and famine,
deluge and drought,
of suffering
that kindled the fire beneath their feet,
quickened their steps.
I sing the song they once heard
but could not remember.
I am their wings and wishes
living out loud
climbing solo toward the sun
scattering petals of hope along the way.
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»» There’s more: Click here to read the next set of poems
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»» More poems: In troubled times, SLO County poets seek to comfort and inspire
This story was originally published April 17, 2017 at 6:23 PM with the headline "Who am I? ‘My America’ and other poems exploring identity and diversity in the U.S.."