POETRY: 'Stardust' by George Abraham

Stardust
By George Abraham

“We’re all made of stardust,”
he said.
And what a peculiar thought to arise
Here
In the world’s most powerful city,
Washington, DC;
Here
Where our nation’s story is engraved in
Sculptures as if history is
Trapped in time- forever living
Through triumph and tragedy,
Through war and peace,
Through economic boom and bust;
            It is here
Where immigrant protesters march upon capitol hill
Demanding their rights.

And the sculptures watch,
Remaining immovable
But yearning to speak.

For, they realize a divine truth,
Yet the mortals do not.
We are stuck in a country
Where people like
Johnny Moneybags can go to Harvard
Because daddy paid to build their latest library,
     But immigrants cannot get even the most
     Basic of college educations despite
     Hard work and diligence-
Where Taylor Swift can live her life
Making songs of all the boys that have
Come and gone; Breaking up with guys
is as periodic as sunrise and sunset;
     Yet, we hear talk of gays everywhere
     Being bullied into suicide
     Despite that their love is even more genuine
     Than that of this beloved star;       
Where people are arrested on sight
At our airports
For greeting incoming relatives
In Arabic,
     Because, in their heads 
     If one bad person speaks Arabic
     Obviously all people who speak Arabic must
     Follow suit…

It is easier to own a machine gun
Than it is to afford a college education
Here;
It is easier to find someone who has memorized parts of the bible
Than it is to find someone who can locate China on the globe
Here;
It is easier to find a McDonnalds
Than it is to find a book store
Here

In the God-blessed United States of America.

And as these sculptures
Fall
watching this country descend into turmoil,
they yearn to speak the divine truth-
a truth that is not even too complex-
the only criteria to understand this truth is
Giving a damn
About someone other than yourself-

“The ground you walk on-
It’s dust.
And so are you.

So is everyone.”

Copyright 2013| George Abraham