Make Them Listen
America the beautiful
But is she really?
America the beautiful
Cries a weeping mother
Whose son is no more
She demands love, demands honor
Demands respect without question
While her people cry
Cry for love, cry for honor
Cry for respect earned by blood and sweat
She demands high standards
So few can truly meet, and then
As her people plead for the standards to lower
She shrugs
“That’s just how it is”
America’s beauty is in the eye of the beholder
The white, male, cisgender, straight, able, neurotypical beholder
Cover up the hideous truth
Paint it in stars and stripes and sing of amber waves of grain
To honor a country built on ruined lives
So many, left behind, forgotten, ignored
So many screaming to be heard
And yet, the silence smothers it all
Raise your voice, raise your banners, scream to the world
Scream
I am here
I am real
Do not forget me
Do not brush me to the side
My voice matters
Make
Them
Listen
Until they can no longer push you aside
Until the rose tint fades from their eyes
Until the world is revealed for what it is
And America comes to life
And America becomes beautiful once more