(With “New Colossus” (1883) – Emma Lazarus)

“Give me your tired,
Your poor,
Your huddled masses,
Yearning to breathe free…”

No – disregard that,
Rather deny it –
Disown it,
Reject its implications
Revoke the words’
Fallacious allegations
It’s deception,
A lie –
A manipulation of tongue,
An enticement to lure –
To tease the imprudent young

Better yet –
Comprehend your inferiority
Your minimum wage price
Your inadequate language
Too baffling to suffice
Assimilate –
Gather your poor,
Destitute, huddled masses –
Your Secondhand
Cut-rate lower classes
And integrate –
Impeccably conform
Drop the accent
Shatter and transform

Too foreign –
Dissimilar, atypical
To scarcely be a resident
Too inept,
Inane
To vote for a president
Then simply vanish –
Cast yourselves away
Our empathy is withered
Our ethics astray
Turn back –
Now hasten,
You faltered ashore
What do you deem this nation?
This isn’t America anymore.