I, too, sing America.
I am the working mother.
You offer me glimpses of the “good life”
As I pass by your stores.
Well meaning, you show my child a wonderful time
Flaunting the fanciness I will never afford
Before dropping him off at my trailer door.
“Why don’t we have those things Mommy?”
“What happened that made US poor?”
This lot of poverty is looked on with disdain
As though this position is solely my blame.
Tomorrow,
You could be at my table
If your job was no more.
I would never offer you
the scraps off of my floor.
Then you will see how valuable I am
As the rich get richer on the backs of the poor.
And be ashamed that you thought I was just
Stupid, ignorant or a whore.
I, too, am America
Inspired by Langston Hughes’ “I Too”
Rights & Access
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Coquille Rex
Linn-Benton Community College, Albany, OR
Faculty Advisor: Robin Havenick, English Faculty and Poetry Advisor