I Feel Furious
Is it better to have been giddy
with hope that was shattered
like a beloved plate thrown down?
Or to have foreseen disaster,
neck bowed waiting for the blow?
The result is the same.
A country full of anger, hatred
of everyone not just like you.
How dare they speak Spanish
eat different foods, want to
worship a different god,
marry their lifelong partner?
Burn the place down, they
shout. We've been robbed.
We want the 50's back, Those
times were good for us, and you
were kept nicely in your place just under our feet.
Marge Piercy, in The Blue Collar Review.