America is a country at war,
not the “buy savings bonds”
“plant a victory garden” type of war,
but a war against
its own people.
Ordinary citizens
are jailed,
deported
for the color of their skin,
mothers are torn from children,
the hungry are left starving,
the sick without healthcare.
Only the wealthy
can live unaffected.
Hints of Germany in the 1930’s
salt the air
Honestly,
no one is safe.
Eventually,
one’s heritage,
blood type,
height,
religious affilation,
sports allegiance
or hometown
will be a marker
for destruction.
There is no rhyme
to the isolation.
America is at war.

*inspiration: We Lived Happily During the War” poem by Ilya Kaminsky