this is America the Beautiful
this is bombs still bursting in air
this is land of the conqueror
home of the slaughtered
oh, say, can you see?
how the blood still pours
steady as the Missouri river itself
this is nothing new
what they really meant in those songs was
this land is not your land
this land is my land
this land was made by you for me
this is my standing rock
this is gas guzzler dream, capitalist fantasy
the masters.
their hearts, like gizzards, dead and packaged in plastic
this is pocket-lined prophecy
bulldozers in the hands of children
name it the War on Water
everybody likes a good fight
it’s always been about water, hasn’t it?
about life source?
about life?
and who can buy it
and who deserves it
this is Flint water being swallowed
this is Trayvon’s blood spilling
this is Dreamers’ tears welling
this is refugee arms treading
this is Marsha P Johnson’s body floating
this is profit vs. body count
this is nothing new
to a people who know imperialism like sunrise — always coming.
this is butcher’s technique passed father to son
this is getting the job done, atta boy! and a slap on the back
when the bodies of the oppressed are simply collateral this is business as usual, Uncle Sam salutes you, this is in God we trust
this is Columbus resurrected
manifest destiny at your doorstep
everything you can see is yours
there are no borders — in this case alone
this is anything you can do I can do better
this is entire communities for the taking
history for the rewriting
how a whole nation can fit in a single fist
this is the long reaching arm of democracy
conquistadors called liberators, genocide called progress
white supremacy called patriotism
this is the stomping out of culture, English only schools
and name changing
they’d buy back the memories, too, if they could
this is weeding the bad ones out because they know too much this is riot gear meets peaceful protest
this is nothing new
this is tax money spent on bullets instead of books
jailing protesters because, shit, they can make money off that, too this is incarceration nation
this is buying media outlets and gagging the truth’s mouth
this is politicians looking the other way, windows rolled up drones flying and no faces shown
only blood
there is so much blood
this is just God’s work, dear
this is SUV driving, cruise-taking, mouth-stuffing,
I want more, mommy
mommy, I want more
this is a matter of money, only money matters
this is what buying a life looks like
this is what buying life looks like
this is nothing new
this is Standing Rock
this is like everything else that’s been taken.
Author Bio:
Marissa is a world-traveling, Beyonce-worshipping, wine-loving, gay woman living in Brooklyn, New York. She recently took a Buzzfeed quiz to determine her style based on her favorite color and horoscope and it told her she is a "Salty Grandma" and that was probably the most accurate thing that’s ever been said about her. She is a poet, researcher, and activist on issues including mass incarceration, violence against women, and LGBTQ rights.
this is bombs still bursting in air
this is land of the conqueror
home of the slaughtered
oh, say, can you see?
how the blood still pours
steady as the Missouri river itself
this is nothing new
what they really meant in those songs was
this land is not your land
this land is my land
this land was made by you for me
this is my standing rock
this is gas guzzler dream, capitalist fantasy
the masters.
their hearts, like gizzards, dead and packaged in plastic
this is pocket-lined prophecy
bulldozers in the hands of children
name it the War on Water
everybody likes a good fight
it’s always been about water, hasn’t it?
about life source?
about life?
and who can buy it
and who deserves it
this is Flint water being swallowed
this is Trayvon’s blood spilling
this is Dreamers’ tears welling
this is refugee arms treading
this is Marsha P Johnson’s body floating
this is profit vs. body count
this is nothing new
to a people who know imperialism like sunrise — always coming.
this is butcher’s technique passed father to son
this is getting the job done, atta boy! and a slap on the back
when the bodies of the oppressed are simply collateral this is business as usual, Uncle Sam salutes you, this is in God we trust
this is Columbus resurrected
manifest destiny at your doorstep
everything you can see is yours
there are no borders — in this case alone
this is anything you can do I can do better
this is entire communities for the taking
history for the rewriting
how a whole nation can fit in a single fist
this is the long reaching arm of democracy
conquistadors called liberators, genocide called progress
white supremacy called patriotism
this is the stomping out of culture, English only schools
and name changing
they’d buy back the memories, too, if they could
this is weeding the bad ones out because they know too much this is riot gear meets peaceful protest
this is nothing new
this is tax money spent on bullets instead of books
jailing protesters because, shit, they can make money off that, too this is incarceration nation
this is buying media outlets and gagging the truth’s mouth
this is politicians looking the other way, windows rolled up drones flying and no faces shown
only blood
there is so much blood
this is just God’s work, dear
this is SUV driving, cruise-taking, mouth-stuffing,
I want more, mommy
mommy, I want more
this is a matter of money, only money matters
this is what buying a life looks like
this is what buying life looks like
this is nothing new
this is Standing Rock
this is like everything else that’s been taken.
Author Bio:
Marissa is a world-traveling, Beyonce-worshipping, wine-loving, gay woman living in Brooklyn, New York. She recently took a Buzzfeed quiz to determine her style based on her favorite color and horoscope and it told her she is a "Salty Grandma" and that was probably the most accurate thing that’s ever been said about her. She is a poet, researcher, and activist on issues including mass incarceration, violence against women, and LGBTQ rights.
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