July 4, 2018

Picnics, parties, marches, laughter,

Potato salad, apple pie…

Friends and families united

And fireworks lit up the nighttime sky.

Some, however, couldn't partake--

Some with horrific stories to tell,

Who, if they could see the fireworks,

Had to watch them from a cell.

Parents separated from children

Here seeking refuge learned

How the rules of immigration

Can be so quickly overturned.

Some are forced to be deported

To Mexico and beyond--

Forced to leave their kids behind,

Denied due process, denied even bond.

The president and his admin team--

These our heroes! These our champs!--

Propose a plan to reunify

Families in internment camps!

Refuge seekers torn apart

Learned not in a pretty way

How people in America

Honor Independence Day.

If Lady Liberty were able,

She’d lay down her tablet and flame

And raise up her hands in order

To hide her tearful face in shame. 

-by Bob B (7-5-18)