American Kings
No dreams anymore, right?
That’s ok, I’ll find one somewhere.
I lost my health insurance
last year. That’s ok, because
I’m an American. My bones
are held together by bootstraps.
I take iron pills to remind me
that I used to make steel.
I go to Church.
I paid taxes when I had a job.
The politicians convinced me
Welfare is bad for me
and that affordable
housing is a crutch.
Be strong and dependent on no one
they told me.
I’m an American.
I load my gun
and make the others bleed.
I’ll build the wall.
I listen to my leaders.
They know how to preserve
their wealth. Someday it will
trickle down to me, because
I’m an American. I believe
in freedom and dying.
I’m an American. I must believe
in
my king
for
his hand is always around my throat.
Eric Allen Yankee is a poet and freelance writer. His poems appear in publications like Crab Fat Magazine, Vanilla Sex Magazine, Yellow Chair Review, The Good Men Project, The People’s Tribune, and more. His work has been nominated for The Pushcart Prize. His chapbook RIOT is forthcoming from Finishing Line Press. His second chapbook American Bullet will be out later this year through Atomic Theory Micro Press (December 2017).
Riot is available for preorder at Finishing Line Press: https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/riot-by-eric-allen-yankee/
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