Suffer the Little Children to Come to Me

In most historical cultures children were sacred:
the gift of gods,
implying the protection of heaven.

In America, too, children once were welcome,
the America that welcomed immigrants.
Now America seeks 
to keep those immigrants out
who do not bring wealth, 
but large extended families. 

What Immigrants are seeking is safety
and freedom from threats to their children.
What they find is lies, 
detainment and separation: parents from each other
and from their children.

America now has lost her pride
and only grovels for money,
making a whore of the Statue of Liberty
and a lie of the Constitution. 

Surely a country as wealthy as ours
can keep its pledge
to the dispossessed of the world
as were, once, our families.

The only threat is to America’s wealthiest five percent
who could out of love for America
pay off her debt, 
but are not willing
to give to give threatened families 
a chance at life.