Poem: The Eagle

The Eagle

(inspired by ‘The Moth’s Plea’ by Elizabeth Jennings)

I am the metaphor of a metropolis,

And the symbol of a nation.

You hear fables of a great beast

But it’s all a fabrication.

But then you see a conflicted country,

Full of discrimination.

Some fifty states, judged by their race,

A sea of consternation.

I envy the birds who have no expectation.

I am laureled, yet laden with the realisation that

I never asked for the delegation

Of all this segregation.

I am the eagle.

You try to take a picture of me caged in a city from afar,

But I’m yearning to once again fly free in the canyons of Utah.

The responsibility of a country shackled in chains –

Have you ever thought what it’s like to be

The face of so much disdain?

They could’ve picked any other animal than me,

To be the image of this country.

                                                                       Samuel Lewis