Two Americas Poem by Chen-ou Liu

a 4-tanka sequence

the White House
surrounded by a metal fence
ten feet high...
this is America, and yet
the other America

this chilly night
stretching thousands of miles
behind the day
November 6th, the veil thinnest
between Heaven and Hell

'Not Going Back'
painted in large blue letters
on the billboard
in autumn morning chill
'Not' crossed out with red paint

raindrops stream
down Lady Liberty's face
in my mind's eye
the convicted felon stands
on top of the White House


FYI: 'The other America' first appeared in Martin Luther King Jr's 'March 14,1968' speech (where he was interrupted over and over by hecklers calling him a traitor) , describing the differences in what life is like for Black/African-Americans. And Former U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate John Edwards used the 'Two Americas' concept in a 2004 speech, making it into a catch phrase referring to social stratification.