An American Trilogy

Part 1

Dear America
As TV ads and speeches
Religiously flicker and scream at you
To choose the right man to lead your country
As debates and diverse points of view
On prime time
Rage on
Just know, that America can only go on
If you decide to choose the right man
Come November

She is fragile
She is hungry
She is tired
And she is ready
For change…

Dear America
Leave your prejudice and racism at the door
Let freedom and change tally up the scores
Take some time to reflect
Before family and church
Ring the bells in the steeples of your country
Loud enough for you to go deaf once more…

Dear America
Freedom was never meant to be a foreign concept
Forced upon the peoples of Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere
It can be real
It can be now
It can be beautiful
And it can be yours
But only if you want it…

Freedom was never meant to ignore the Gaza Strip
Or let Cubans drown in the pursuit of freedom?
Freedom was never meant to strangle hope out of Africa
Or kill civilians with no thought?

Freedom yearns to be free of obstacles, threats and political interferences
If anything, freedom needs you more today than ever
Another eight years like the eight before might kill you
Needless to say, the world needs you to make the right choice

As election day draws near
Realise the power you hold in your hands
And use it to change your future
You know you can…

An African


Part 2

Dear America
If you must
Go back to all the debates
Rewind the tapes
Ask questions
Look back at all the primaries and the past
Including yours
Then tally up the scores…

Ask yourself who bombed Iraq
And killed Hussein
In the name of your freedom
Knowing that there’s always a million better ways
To solve any situation…

Ask yourself why your country
Is still searching for Osama
And why terrorism is still used to put your freedom
In a coma…

Sleep it over
Go over it
Over coffee
Or at the water cooler at work
Just don’t let anybody fool you into believing
That what you have right now is good…

Dear America
Think about the freedom of people across the world
Think about freeing the world
Think about the poor
Knowing your country can definitely do more

Think about it
As if your life depended upon it
Don’t ever let the reason for making your choice
Escape your mind’s eye
Because if you make the wrong decision on the day
You’ll have to explain why
To yourself and your children…

Look at your children
Look at your life
Look at yourself
Ask yourself if you deserve better
And believe that you do…

Ask yourself if you are ready for change
Ready to share in that elusive American pie
Ask yourself in your heart of hearts
If you can really give real change a try…

An African


Part 3

Dear America
Some of them are younger than 20
And they might never ever see their country
Again
They don’t even know what they are fighting for
And they don’t know why they are there
And most of them are scared shit-faced
In the name of war and peace…

They are your sons and they are your daughters
Don’t let all of them return
In body bags
Wrapped in the red, white and blue
Decorated with a star
On a flight from Iraq…
At noon on a tearful Sunday…

Budgets that go into trillions of dollars
Cannot justify all the American blood
Flowing in Iraq
Budgets that go into trillions of dollars
Cannot begin to justify parents being denied
Seeing their kids grow up…

Dear America
You’re supposed to be
The land of the free
And the home of the brave
Don’t let your country become a slave
To oil and power…


Your phones are being tapped
Guns are on tap
Iraq and Afghanistan are almost
Blown off the world’s map
Poverty is still around
And most Americans are trapped
In debt and a veil of perceived freedom

Give him a chance to change
The status quo
Because you know
He can make a difference…

An African