“America the Greedy”
by Gary R. Hess
Hundreds of dollars spent on time
Money wasted for every being
Getting hurt every moment
Losing faith this very second
What is there to do in this life?
Knowing I won’t have what I need
Not the house or secure job
Not the right life to live
America the great
Or injustice
That’s the way it is
In this great nation
The poor can’t succeed
The poor can’t live
The poor can’t live love
America is misery
–
This poem is quite old. I wrote it maybe ten years ago (or more? I can’t remember).
The funniest thing about this poem is that my feelings are still true today but for different reasons. I have grown up mentally quite a bit since this, but my overall feelings of how the US takes advantage of the poor has not changed (see “My Inspiration”).
On the other hand, take a look at the poetic structural differences. This poem has pluses and minuses but overall I find it difficult to even relate poetically to anymore. It is indeed written as contemporary free verse, which I still write often. However, today I lean more towards using speed as my guide for rhythm and include much longer sentences and usually assonance or consonance here and there. It just feels so different.
–
This poem is from the book Poetic Nights.
