Is This My Country?

City of my joy, city of my dreams Under water and forgotten Corpses floating by Babies dying Young and old blacks, old whites That could be my grandmother Dead in her wheelchair Or my brother’s corpse Floating in the water My President is bragging about his war Surrounded by white-clad sailors Spending the night in the white Hotel del Coronado While blacks, mostly blacks Suffer and die The aid trickles in More die by the hour Donate to the Red Cross I do so but feel worthless nonetheless It is not what I can or cannot do Do or do not do That would save those people It is what my society My government My leaders Are able to do They disappoint me And I am ashamed Of the government Of the society I call my own And am part of And am at least in part responsible for I’ll become better than that And settle for nothing less From those who lead me Goodbye New Orleans I’ll see you again on the other side of this nightmare