We Dressed Like Cowboys Poem by Raj Dronamraju

We dressed like cowboys
Or so we thought
These thought were based on the misconception that flannel shirts were America
Whereas the truth is flannel shirts are just flannel shirts
And no one wears hats

We resented others for what we thought they had that we didn't
We begrudged others bettering themselves and the rewards they enjoyed as a result of this
These feelings were based on the misconception that bitter envy was America
And we bark at someone to stop them from getting something we can't have ourselves

The blood that soaks our fingertips
And refuses to be washed out
That blood writes the name of America

Hold that ladder steady so I can climb up too
But I see you've already gone once you made it to the top
Your desertion is quintessentially American

And the pseudo romantic listing of streets and town
Tell us of a specific nativist America
But I won't be held down by geography
This land is more than you and me's land
This land belongs to everyone who ever lived here