America, I believe in you,
even though I should perhaps not.
You repeat the same mistakes
over and over again,
so much so that these mistakes
have become the norm for you.
Still, I yearn for you to do better –
even as history tells me you cannot.
Perhaps this latest mistake of yours
is not a step away from your path
as much as a reflection
of what you have always been.
Still, I worry for you.
I’m telling you that you can
and must do better.
Your ideals have become
a consolation to me,
even as you so fervently reject them,
spurning the huddled and poor
from your shores.
You turn your back on them,
caging them –
tearing families apart.
And I don’t know what to say,
because this is a mistake
you’ve made before.
You said you learned though.
You promised you had.
I believed you.
I really, truly did.
But now that you’ve done this,
what other judgment can I have
other than that you have not truly learned?
Perhaps you never will.
And yet still,
America,
I believe in you.
The Young Writers Project provides VPR's audience another avenue to hear and read selections from Vermont's young writers. The thoughts and ideas expressed here are the writers' own and do not necessarily reflect those of Vermont Public Radio.
The collaboration is organized by Susan Reid of Young Writers Project and Vermont Public Radio.
