In the Land of Opportunity
Entitlement reared her pretty head
Without a backstop to plain bad luck
Social Security's safety net was spread
Next came the 'War on Poverty'
Food Stamps and ADC
It might have staved off hunger for a bit
But dependency was galvanized, and (yes), obesity
Today there is unprecedented help
for anyone who will only yelp
Free computer classes, GED, ESL too
Guaranteed Job Training programs in high schools
and community colleges, Yahoo!
Yet the percentage of those working has gone down
and dropping most free classes reigns supreme
Seems that 'giving away the farm'
won't bring back the American Dream
It's only one man's unscientific perception ~
but 'teaching a man to fish' still passes inspection
__________________________________________________________
ADC = Aid to Dependent Children
GED = General Education Diploma (Equivalent to High School Diploma)
ESL = English as a Second Language (for immigrants and their children)
I take my hat off for the flag
I stand up straight; let others sag
I get all weepy for Old Glory
thinking of my family's story
They came from Russia with naught but hope
with just their wits to help them cope
No language skills or education either
Money or living quarters, they had neither
But they scraped and scrimped, and just kept going
Gramps peddled junk, grams did the sewing
And with the help of God, it all worked out
Hard work and faith -- their kids did sprout
My father an attorney, my uncle a physician
All due to gram and gramps' prescient intuition
To emigrate alone, part of no community
to an unknown land of opportunity
A long time ago 'twas, ships set sail
For in England and on the Continent
Certain folks were doomed sure to fail
They were Puritans, the 'wrong religion'
Or hewers of wood, down on their role
Like drawers of water, low on the totem pole
They came to Massachusetts and sunny Virginia
Uncharted lands, filled with large dreams
Where they'd find a way for their plans and their schemes
Sadly, some died, in the harsh clutches of winter
Other pulled through, a-hunting and fishing
Planting maize and potatoes, Thanksgiving-wishing
They'd escaped the caste system that had kept them down
In "New England" they built farms, orchards, and towns
**********
Now the years have whizzed by, over 400 in all
We descendants no longer stand so proud or so tall
The caste system our ancestors fled has been replaced
By an equally cruel one, based on money and race
one's from japan
one's from ukraine
one is from turkey
two are from spain
one speaks portuguese
another korean
two speak mongolian
though none speak armenian
one likes thick coffee
another aromatic tea
one tokes up on a hookah
one fancies me
one's here on a visa
a second's an asylee
three are new immigrants
for them nothing's free
one was a surgeon
one a head nurse
a third was a physicist
here they'll do worse
one's here alone
two got divorced
three are now roomates
to split the rent, perforce
one gets splitting headaches
another the chills
a third is congested
so many are ill
one is quite homesick
one could care less
another's family disowned her
her life's a big mess
all are my students
so eager to learn
to improve their 'poor English'
~ there's money to earn
Note: The students all think, to a man/woman, that their English is "poor." It's not. International students are 'driven,' and in more than a few cases their English borders on excellent...At worst, it's functional...
The Land of Opportunity,
Came knocking at the door
Selling Strap on Wings and
Thin Golden Strings,
All things we should adore.
The Land of Opportunity,
Is an enigma from a dream.
The Land of Opportunity,
Sews on our Strap on Wings.
With deft hands and rich words,
It creates the Golden Seams.
Golden Seams append the back
To restless Strap on Wings.
It was then in the first venture,
that we began to fly.
Testing mighty Golden Wings,
That gain inordinate heights.
It is now here in this moment
That we begin to dive.
The Land of Opportunity's,
Golden Seams don't seem to last.
A vision sewed up tight,
unravels before our eyes.
The Land of Opportunity,
Now an axeman in disguise.
It has our dreams sewed up tight,
And kept far out of reach.
The Land of Opportunity,
Sad lessons it will teach.
The Golden Wings diminish,
They left us to survive.
The Land of Opportunity,
The shape shifts fabric of our lives.
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