SHAME ON YOU, AMERIKA
by Kathryn Waddell Takara
Shame on you, Amerika!
your unacknowledged history
your slavery, brutality
legitimized violence, overt and covert.
Familicide, genocide
exploitation, deprivation
excesses of greed and power needs.
Shame on you, Amerika!
you deny/destroy the history of Afrika
our ancestral land
her pyramids and architecture,
her medicine and math,
her philosophy, theology,
her sacred soul, her science too
the arts, aesthetics, just like you.
Shame on you, Amerika!
money, personal property
profit over equality
ever reluctant to share your gains
with your darker citizens
a fair measure of humanity
are you blind, can you not see?
Shame on you, blame on you,
pain for you, for us, Amerika.
The dispossessed have moaned and groaned
have cried and screamed for a home
behind closed doors they scrubbed and cleaned
and occasionally in the streets were mean
they wanted more freedom and opportunities
real meaning to democracy.
Shame on you, Amerika!
your ignorance beyond belief.
You blame the victim, claim surprise,
neglect the huge mote in your eyes,
stunned by violence and destruction
in the streets, your own construction
after decades of neglect.
Shame on you, Amerika!
to turn your back, ignore the lack
of jobs and justice, health care and food
you close the doors, ignore the mood.
Shame on you Amerika!
your poison blows, your hypocritical shows,
your ubiquitous racism exposed
for your darker citizens, no relief
humiliation a daily dose beyond belief.
Shame on you, Amerika!
you rob the land of tomorrow’s dreams
You offer us sharp shards of schemes
you control, you mould our hope
you ignore the killing dope.
Shame on you, Amerika!
the stock market soars
with the unemployment rate
someone’s getting rich, someone is in foreclosure.
Some take the bait, others learn to hate.
Shame, blame, endgame, Amerika.
Social sciences cover up well
blame the victim, blame the skin
easy then to ignore them.
Blame genetics, blame the race
do anything to save your face.
Shame on you, Amerika!
Hollywood, La-La land
A place where rich and poor
share space and smog
if not commodities and jobs.
A microcosm of the West
the worst and then the very best
where poor children who graduate
cannot read or write
where people’s hearts are squeezed
by razor pain and fright.
Shame on you Amerika!
Black folks, witnesses of disparities
depravities, inequalities, humilities.
The police extolled, patrol, control.
The affluent privatize, deregulate, and party
with recreational legal drugs.
The poor use sex, illegal means, and thugs
to camouflage their pain and fears
to escape their tragic fall so near
few possibilities that bring good cheer.
Shame on you, Amerika!
all the problems still remain
these gloomy days are full of pain and bloody stains.
Helas, doom for you, Amerika,
unless you heed the cries and moans
unless you begin to atone.
The black pearls of humanity
covered by filth of poverty
when given attention and brotherly care
will shine out brilliantly
if you dare.
Leave the insults in the past
Restore our history, permit us dignity at last.
We are here, Amerika,
whether you like it or not
you brought us, fought us, wrought us.
We go together side by side.
Accept us, and let peace abide!
We demand justice as a nation,
we deserve consideration.
Shame on you, Amerika!
Shame on you, Amerika!
Shame…on you…Amerika!
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