I Have a Dream: Inaugural Poems for a New Generation

KAYLANI GUEVARA Untitled The America then was full of hate Full of discrimination and power struggle Plantation workers and cotton pickers Men and women lynched and killed for no good reason Children not allowed to learn in fear of them being educated An endless cycle of darkness Surrounding the lives of those who were never really sure of what went wrong Never understood why they were treated the way they were But this was considered the “land of the free,” right?

The America now is full of hate Innocent people getting murdered Allowing candy bars to be guns Allowing 20 years of jail to be death penalties Allowing speeding tickets to be murder Heads turning away from the problem Pretending they don’t see what’s right in front of them Chipping away at equality America is not making any progress But we have the most funding for military services in the world, right?

The America in the future has hope As a whole we need to do better Climb the Rocky Mountains Instead of just looking at the hill Plant the flower in the garden Instead of letting the weeds grow We can’t stay paused in time Start a new chapter Together America can be beautiful No matter the race of its people America is full of working hands No matter the sexuality of its people America is full of busy minds No matter the gender of its people America is full of creative thoughts 54