To America's Immigrants

You broke the sod on our prairies,
built railroads, 
tied East and West coasts together,
then ran the trains;

built cities, dug subways, dammed rivers,
raised bridges that were sung forever.

Some of you, my grandparents included,
moved to the land:
plowed fields, sowed seed, and picked crops;

fed cows and delivered milk, 
or within the towns
became grocers and tailors and butchers.

Some taught our young
who became lawyers, policemen and judges;

you healed our sick
as doctors and nurses and dentists:
became pastors and bishops and priests:

and you fought our wars
on land, on sea, in the air.

You married and buried your own, 
brought your parents and grandparents and cousins, 
taught them the language;
your children went off to college…

and so it went:
we became known as the Land of the Free.

But now you’re a different flavor…
and so are we
who have lost the favor of the rich.

It is them we serve who claim we are taking the jobs
they don’t even want:
we who work the low-paying jobs.