Immigration Policy Poem by Leila Ired
Immigration Policy
Why not
eliminate the outsiders?
and get this country
back the way it used to be?
True, it may be difficult-
there's a lot of them,
with their foreign ways
and their foreign foods
and their foreign faces
trying to corrupt our life,
our children.
But they've been coming fast
and hard
for a long time!
We've been more than generous,
but their welcome's long outstayed-
Crossing our borders like roaches by land or
like sardines by boat,
crying: 'A new land! a place to be free! '
But this land's not new anymore, but old,
with our people and our ways.
So let's do more than
close these borders-
let's throw out the outsiders:
(the Mexicans, the Asians,
the Eastern Europeans-
the Jews and Chinese,
the Irish and Puritans...)
and leave, perhaps,
a young brave hunting
in the land that
(if you want to argue)
has been, and always will be,
his.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Delivering Poems Around The World
Poems are the property of their respective owners. All information has been reproduced here for educational and informational purposes to benefit site visitors, and is provided at no charge...
4/24/2024 9:59:14 AM # 1.0.0.1119
Unfortunately, a lot of people misread this poem. (Though it's not really clear where I was going with it, I must admit.) The poem is sarcastic, because it points out that America WAS a melting pot of cultures from the very moment the Mayflower landed. (The poem lists the Puritans among its 'immigrants' to be thrown out.) Essentially, I was trying to demonstrate the hypocrisy of the arguments you may hear from many anti-immigration pundits. At the end of the poem, I point out that the only people left due to this 'immigration policy' would be Native Americans (the 'young brave hunting') who are the only true 'natives' of this continent. I am not anti-immigration in any way. Though I myself was born in America, much of my family has come here from other parts of the world and I myself have been told to 'go back' to various countries. I have the highest respect for anyone and everyone who comes here to make a better life, whether they're rich or poor. Everyone in America came from somewhere else. That was precisely the point I was trying to make. Thank you for pointing out that the poem was not clear. I hope other readers will read this comment and not jump to the logical conclusions about my political viewpoint.