American Literature

Echoes of American Pens

As we search for signs of those who came before us

All I hear is Pen to paper

I hear the turning of pages

And dialects of varying tongues.

I see different colors from different pasts,

Different eyes that have seen different things,

Things of joy and despair.

Yet we are brought back together

By the feeling of being different.

That is America a place of diversity

We have a revolutionary past

A persevering Present

And a dreamful future.

A nation inquisitive by nature

Questions of which

Malcolm X did answer

You can show disapproval without compromising a rule

That while we feel jailed a true appreciation for freedom is jeweled.

Then Martin Luther King Jr. chimed

If something is to be changed do not stand idly

Nonviolently approach the problem with your decree

As Sherman Alexie advised

Do not let the scars of the past determine the decisions of today

Pride is fine but it can also lead you to decay

Lorna Cervantes warned

This world is not here to comfort you

So let your passion seize you through.

But Benjamin Franklin voiced

Just because they are different does not make them wrong

Walk hand in hand with what’s different

That brings progress along.

These Heroes have written words of welcome

In a world where they’re words are often not welcome.

Our nation has become an eternal dance of Diversity

 Whose rhythm pulsates three beats: Revolution, Dream, and Persevere