American Soil

A lot of poetic truth in this well written poem..I love the whole poem but these verses struck a chord in me..

Still war is waged convinced the next is the last
Believing the Lord will forgive their trespass
Failing to look and see who’s been left behind
School is left to teach Death is a grade no child can pass

So true..awesome poem

peace Crim :)

Thank you for commenting Crim. It always makes me feel good to know something in my work touches others within. JJ

"..the land of the free, home of the brave..."
I did not know then how much was ended. When I look back now from this high hill of my old age, I can still see the butchered women and children lying heapen and scattered all along the crooked gulch as plain as when I saw them with eyes still young.And I can see that something else died there in the bloody mud, and was buried in the blizzard. A people dream died there. It was a beautiful dream. . . the nations hoop is broken and scattered. There is no center any longer, and the sacred tree is dead.

          -Black Elk, Lakota

Thanks for the quote from Black Elk Grace. Very interesting and thought provoking while creating images of horror and its aftermath. JJ

Civilisations are built on foundations of war and blood, poetryman. Your poem is superb, as usual.

This is true, though I'd like to think we have acheived civilisation and can proceed to using our brains to solve our differences.

We live in interesting time.

Loved these lines.

"Columbus discovered slavery and slaughter
Frontiersmen and cowboys we love to revere
Followed in his footsteps from sea to shining sea
So that everyone not white would live in deadly fear

Spilling souls over five centuries
Speaking the science of demise with every last breath
The sword advances to cauterize its wound
Cutting through the bandage between life and death"

Great job JJ :)

Thank you Indie, glad you liked it, even loved it!!! I can't believe I hadn't already posted this.
 
Speaking of Columbus and what he is responsible for, after trying and failing to enslave the natives of the new world, he decided to use Africans, as they were easier to control. He labled the natives as savages who could not be trained, and until very recent times there are those who call, what we refer to as Native Americans, savages. Yet if we look at what they were doing, they embody the very essense of the American spirit, as those who were willing to fight to the death the retain their freedom and their way of life. This is what we say of ourselves whenever we talk about preserving the American way. And our government still tries to tax them for trying to make a living on what little land we reserved for them to live on as a sovereign people.

It boggles my mind that we celebrate the life of such a being and how hatred is still so thouroughly engrained in our society that they can use it to gain political power and cast blame on others for their own misfortune.
jj

:)

Thank you Atehequa!

Ahhh so now I do see what you were meaning. As I think someone said above, this a rather wonderful, truthful write. Glad I finally got a chance to read it.

And thAn you for A Absolutely wonderful comment JessicA, As Always..! jj

your ink has proven to be timeless ... a testament to your insight, and our collective demise ...

Trayvon Martin ... 5 year olds murdered at a school in Connecticut ... mass shootings at a night club in Miami, and now Vegas ... protection under DACA gone ... heroin use on the rise by teenagers ... scorning those who won't pledge to it all unfailingly ...

BRAVO POETRYMAN!

I often say "the more things don't change, the more they stay the same". Sometimes people think I got he saying wrong, but most pick up on the obviousness and sarcasm in my phrasing. We keep repeating history as if history was born today... It is an honor to receive the attention of Poetry Worm today! JJ

this is something special, such strong and powerful write - got my brain bouncing around and taking notes - I was trying to pick out lines and phrases but the whole thing is just amazing - if pushed the first stanza is as close to perfect that we as poets could get :-)

Just awesome my friend :-)

Thank you David, that's some amazing praise! I watched a discussion on Columbus day VS Indigenous People's day and it reminded me of this poem I wrote several years ago. I reposted the audio reading to draw attention to it once again because we are repeating history once again. Expecting a different result just goes to prove humanity is collectively insane... JJ

Your good!

So I've been told... What do you think about me?