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No Guns on Streets, Part I


06.19.14 Posted in today's words by

Katya Bitar wrote this poem.

No Guns on Streets, Part I
By Katya Bitar

My mother will argue with you
if you tell her
the United States of America
is not the best place to live,
she came from a dirt floor, angry nuns,
the government’s guns on every corner,
Guatemala,
she will tell you
she slept beneath a stage with rats
and that the sadness she used to
live with
no longer exists,
she remembers a child
with her face and name,

she will tell you America
is opportunity,
the grass on the other side,
Jesus Christ,
she will tell you my father raised her once she arrived,
……….because her own father
was gone
and her stepfather
……….couldn’t tell the difference between her
and her mother,
God whispered to her
…………………….come with me,
……….and though she could not hear his voice
she could hear her own
and that led her,

she will tell you
……….America
………………..is a gift.



2 Responses to “No Guns on Streets, Part I”

  1. Peter Krones says:

    Beautiful poem. You see this truth in breathing, real life. So horrible lyrics some luve, how faulted we are in America–how wonderful in America.

  2. “and her stepfather
    ……….couldn’t tell the difference between her
    and her mother,”

    The dynamite line that kills and yet renews in such basic words with horrific meaning.

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