I Stand Here

I stand here 
watching all the lost angels
wash the feet of fools
sharing their lies better than bread
 
I stand here
in shadows of two towers gone
waiting some hundred odd years
for the dream of a bullet-proof King
 
I stand here
rusting on this rock
sinking in this harbor
trapping hopes in snapshot postcards
 
perhaps you’ve been inside me
parted the copper and slowly worked your way up my robe
searching for my promise
and a little taste of America
 
perhaps you’ve climbed into my mind
starry eyed me
red capped me
tied me up and wrapped me
in flags and patriot grins 
 
perhaps you’ve misunderstood me
as some antebellum girl
shackled on this island
 
but scratch my pale patina skin
I’m brown as Lincoln’s coin
 
…
 
We stand here
in grey water
our torch out with the tide
we won’t see where we’re going
a colossus of failed destiny
 
We kneel here
demanding that you care
 
We’re tired
We’re poor
and We can’t breathe