My young American friend,
Do you remember Woody Guthrie's song?
"This land is your land, this land is my land!"
It's a perfect, a nearly perfect song.
But now the word LAND has to be replaced by the word EARTH:
"This earth is your land, this earth is my land,
from the icy pole caps to the lush rain forests,
from the land of sun rise, to the land of nightfall,
This land is made for you and me!"
This earth is your land, this earth is my land,
from the cared for babies to the waifs and strays,
from the sheltered teens to the homeless rovers.
This land is made for you and me!"
Remember all the displaced people around the world,
displaced by wars, drought, torrents, hunger, repression and poverty!
The earth doesn't belong to the mighty ones, to the tax cheaters, to the deceivers!
It doesn't belong to the deal makers and oppressors!
Neither to the ones in America, Europe, Asia, nor to the ones in Africa and the island all around the globe.
The earths belongs to the peaceful and the caring.
It does not belong to the Popes of Christianity, of Islam, of Hinduism or Buddhism. It doesn't belong to any religion.
The earth does not belong to straights or to gays,
not to people with an IQ above 140 or below 70,
not to fat people or to thin people,
not to diligent or to lazy people,
not to right wing or left wing people.
Let us oust all politicians who seal off their countries from the needy,
the ones fleeing war and suppression:
the ones from Syria and Afghanistan
the ones from Somalia and Eritrea,
the ones from Ghana and Nigeria,
the ones from Guatemala and Venezuela.
You know my dear young American friend I am a displaced person also,
a child displayed by war.
I never can accept the decision to seal off one country from the others. You shouldn't either!
Remember, all US citizens are displaced peoples
or their parents have been or grandparents or grand-grand-grand-parents.
They all have been fugitives looking for a better life.
At the same time they have committed crimes
grabbing land from the indigenous!
Displaced making others displaced.
How can you or your friends dare to shut down your country from the fleeing!
This poem is copyright 2018 Ruwen Rouhs, to whom comments may be sent.
