Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.
(America never was America to me.)
Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed–
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.
(It never was America to me.)
O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.
(There’s never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this “homeland of the free.”)
Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?
And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?
I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek–
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.
I am the young man, full of strength and hope,
Tangled in that ancient endless chain
Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!
Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!
Of work the men! Of take the pay!
Of owning everything for one’s own greed!
I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.
I am the worker sold to the machine.
I am the Negro, servant to you all.
I am the people, humble, hungry, mean–
Hungry yet today despite the dream.
Beaten yet today–O, Pioneers!
I am the man who never got ahead,
The poorest worker bartered through the years.
Yet I’m the one who dreamt our basic dream
In the Old World while still a serf of kings,
Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,
That even yet its mighty daring sings
In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned
That’s made America the land it has become.
O, I’m the man who sailed those early seas
In search of what I meant to be my home–
For I’m the one who left dark Ireland’s shore,
And Poland’s plain, and England’s grassy lea,
And torn from Black Africa’s strand I came
To build a “homeland of the free.”
The free?
Who said the free? Not me?
Surely not me? The millions on relief today?
The millions shot down when we strike?
The millions who have nothing for our pay?
For all the dreams we’ve dreamed
And all the songs we’ve sung
And all the hopes we’ve held
And all the flags we’ve hung,
The millions who have nothing for our pay–
Except the dream that’s almost dead today.
O, let America be America again–
The land that never has been yet–
And yet must be–the land where every man is free.
The land that’s mine–the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, ME–
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.
Sure, call me any ugly name you choose–
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people’s lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!
O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath–
America will be!
Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain–
All, all the stretch of these great green states–
And make America again!
Written in 1935 by American poet Langston Huges
This beautiful country is my home. It faces some serious challenges as it has so many times before ever since it was created. America is a melting pot of different people from all over the world. It offers a quality of life to most that the majority of the rest of the world dreams of. My country is welcoming and resilient. My country is a decent place full of decent people with every shade of skin and cultures and contributions from around the world.
Decent people will not vote for the indecency of Trump.
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Wow. I am so moved by this poem, 1935 middle of the Great Depression, people struggling, yet so apropos of today. And your words at the end truly capture how I feel as well. I know their are some so desperate that they ignore who he is in the desperate hope for change, overlooking what they must know, that no one so bankrupt in moral character can help them rise, and missing that he is not one of them and will betray them. I truly pray America will wake up, that even not loving the alternative they will see the critical need to reject the darkened vision this man represents. Thank you so much! Jo
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Just shared on Facebook.
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That’s very sweet of you. Thank you I hope many will read it. Isn’t it stunning how much it still fits 80 years later?
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Absolutely!
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Jo, I am so glad you like it and I am -as always- thrilled that you take your time to leave a comment.
Will America wake up? I doubt it, many who never voted before will go and vote for Trump. Every hillbilly, every white supremacist…every racist and every trigger happy redneck will show up for this election (please excuse my language).
“Bankrupt in moral character,” what statement. So true and so sad.
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You are so right.
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A powerful poem and I like your message at the end. I am utterly shocked that so many people would actually vote for Trump. I have no idea how they can possibly think for a moment that he would be good for them or the world.
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They showed a group of voters from Ohio, after the last presidential candidates. One woman said: “”I am voting for the conservative party. And if this jackass just happens to be leading this mule train, then so be it.”
It shocked me, the willingness to follow so blindly is sad, scary and will bring us in trouble.
The party loyalty seems to stand above moral believes. Scary. downright scary!
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I saw that too and shook my head. I hope she doesn’t make us all pay dearly for her loyalty.
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“Decent people will not vote for the indecency of Trump” … I hope so much there are enough “decent people” who will vote to make that difference.
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There is a lot of hate and anger boiling and Trump pours oil in the fire. It’s scary, really scary.
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Even those of us who don’t live in the US are equally scared.
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There is a lot at stake. A Trump Presidency could have a tremendous impact in the world. I think that’s why I won’t be quiet until November 8th. I don’t want to sit there thinking, “Maybe, if more of us would have spoken up… .”
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Wonderful and your parting words I will use-Decent people will not vote for the indecency of Trump. So great
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So true 🙂
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Well said! 😊
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Thank you
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You’re welcome. 😊
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