My Beloved Miss Liberty
In the eyes of an artist
You are so beautiful
In the eyes of a historian
You are the torch of liberty for the world
In the heart of the poet inside me you are my life…
My eternal gratitude to you and America's sons and daughters
To the very first explorers whom you sent out to sea
To the American History that a poem can never recite
To God and Country and Founding Fathers,
Because of their God they found this Country, the U.S.A.
You opened your arms for those who passed through Ellis Island
You took me in when I came to another corner called Camp Pendleton
On the day Saigon fell
My life in freedom here has me witness your deeds of humanity
Your tears still roll down on your face
Seeing your sons and daughters pay their ultimate sacrifice
On behalf of citizens of the world
But the world out there stands not in one,
Appreciating the generosity of this land
But generosity has its limitations
America cannot live life for all under the sun
America cannot take the heat of the so-called racism indefinitely,
She cannot be forever exploited in this sentiment for the gains of the unscrupulous
I am your witness…
I am not white
I am yellow
If any Asian like myself wants a perfect country
He can leave as I would…
Linh Duy Vo
22 July 2009©
A grateful naturalized American
On the day President Obama called Police Officer Crowley “stupid.”
© Copyright by Linh Duy Vo. All rights reserved.