That’s America To Me

The house I lived in, the rat infested room, the cockroaches and the lice.

That’s America to me.

The river I would swim in, the garbage floating by.

The diseases I contracted.

The treatments that I had.

Some were painful, others not bad.

That’s America to me.

The butcher and the baker, the people I would meet.

That’s America to me.

The schools that I went to, “hooky” I would play.

I liked school but there were other ways to spend my day.

Exploring the subway system.

I traveled far and wide. 

I rarely paid the fare, money I did not have.

The subway workers often saw me ducking under the turnstile.

They turned their backs, often gave me a smile.

That’s America to me.

In poverty in the slums of New York.

With very little education, many a school day a vacation.

Truant officers on my “tail.”

They never caught me. I never went to jail.

I liked schools. I liked learning, my teachers liked me, a small handsome bright child, an A+ learner, no problem in class.

Patrick Henry Junior High School was as far as I went.

I needed to work full-time to pay our rent.

Our schools are free, this is the land of liberty.

That’s America to me.

I have much more to tell, my days are running out.

(January 1, 2021)