|
Growing Up in America
Growing up in America
as a child
I thrilled to the
railroad trains
riding out of the badlands
not knowing they were owned
by robber barons
I watched the calvary charge
the Indian villages
like Attila the Hun
believing Custer a hero
and Sitting Bull a savage
not taught in school about the
deadly smallpox plague
diseased blankets traded
Indians for title to their land
a deadly plan to murder
an entire nation
generations of ripped-off cultures
gather in the museum of history
dolphins die in tuna fishermen's nets
while pelican eggs refuse to hatch
victim of man's greed and waste
as the blistered hands of faceless
migrant workers reach out for recognition
only to find death in pesticide laced food
the tools of revolution
laid aside rusting from affluence
and false security
the dreams of thousands
of brave warriors lay buried
in unmarked graves
no historical monument
will make mention of them
their children buried
in graves so small
their parents wear them
in their hearts
like an anchor weighed
to the soul
For Jamie
Sitting alone at the
Lost and Found Bar
Here in North Beach
Dark skin removed
From the present
Tapping your fingers
To the late afternoon music
Coming from the jukebox
No longer able to play
Your saxophone
Now sitting alone like you
In a forgotten downtown
Pawn shop
Tagged for a quick sale
Someone puts a dollar
Into the jukebox and
Billie Holiday sings softly
In your ear
Bringing an instant smile
To your face
A lighthouse beam
Dividing the thin line
Between sanity and madness
This is your turf
Your veins burning with the
Energy of life
Long lines of images
Haunting the afternoon hours
Bronzed warrior of old
Sitting here at the
Lost and Found Bar
The beat forever going
On
A. D. Winans is a native San Francisco poet, writer and photographer.
His work has been published world-wide and translated into eight languages.
He is a member of PEN and a graduate of SF State University. The former editor
and publisher of Second Coming, he has seen his work appear on many web
sites as well as in literary journals and neighborhood newspapers.
A. D. Winans
Return to Table of Contents
|