America
America
Born in hypocrisy
A land of opportunities
But a melting pot
Moved to the back boiler
Because the substances refused to properly meld
America
Where your blood can label you as
A work of fiction
And your character determines whether or not
You deserve to bleed
America
Because my middle-class white life is too good to complain about
So I'm not supposed to acknowledge
That there are still problems at every street corner
But contrary to common belief
These problems are not the fault of those
Who inhabit the street corner
America
Where we have grown up to sympathize with the villains
Because we see ourselves in the underdog
So victims must not be as innocent as they appear
And when we find God we represent Him on our money
Instead of our actions
America
Where we've bleached our history
To the point that we've taken away
What we were built to represent in the first place
America
Where the stars are all in competition to shine the brightest
Against their will
And the stripes were flashed to monochrome
So we could build another prison
America
Were you willing to listen at first because my name could so easily be male
And is my poem in danger
Because of my anatomy
Will I have to defend my curves
Before you're willing to defend my humanity
America
Is there a reason that one dream is worth more than another
Or is it somehow convenient
To spend years
In denial
We're leaping miles
To avoid letting someone know
That they were right to believe they were worth more
Than their scores
On another test
That was machine marked and guided by a sea of number two pencils
is it worth it to force us towards higher paying jobs
If you don't want to pay us anyway
America
Can't you see that in the face of an office life
I'd rather hide
And that you'd prefer it too
Because you sure don't want to help
Because you're teaching me to value
The things about myself that I don't need
And telling me to change
All I truly want
America
Can't you ever support a point that's not a knife
Or a hipbone
And hey
America
When will you show us a light
That's not a screen in our living rooms
Flickering into the hours of the night
When we feel to secure too care anymore
Born in hypocrisy
A land of opportunities
But a melting pot
Moved to the back boiler
Because the substances refused to properly meld
America
Where your blood can label you as
A work of fiction
And your character determines whether or not
You deserve to bleed
America
Because my middle-class white life is too good to complain about
So I'm not supposed to acknowledge
That there are still problems at every street corner
But contrary to common belief
These problems are not the fault of those
Who inhabit the street corner
America
Where we have grown up to sympathize with the villains
Because we see ourselves in the underdog
So victims must not be as innocent as they appear
And when we find God we represent Him on our money
Instead of our actions
America
Where we've bleached our history
To the point that we've taken away
What we were built to represent in the first place
America
Where the stars are all in competition to shine the brightest
Against their will
And the stripes were flashed to monochrome
So we could build another prison
America
Were you willing to listen at first because my name could so easily be male
And is my poem in danger
Because of my anatomy
Will I have to defend my curves
Before you're willing to defend my humanity
America
Is there a reason that one dream is worth more than another
Or is it somehow convenient
To spend years
In denial
We're leaping miles
To avoid letting someone know
That they were right to believe they were worth more
Than their scores
On another test
That was machine marked and guided by a sea of number two pencils
is it worth it to force us towards higher paying jobs
If you don't want to pay us anyway
America
Can't you see that in the face of an office life
I'd rather hide
And that you'd prefer it too
Because you sure don't want to help
Because you're teaching me to value
The things about myself that I don't need
And telling me to change
All I truly want
America
Can't you ever support a point that's not a knife
Or a hipbone
And hey
America
When will you show us a light
That's not a screen in our living rooms
Flickering into the hours of the night
When we feel to secure too care anymore