words by nadA
photograph by lynn spinnato

o say can you see
by the dawn’s early light
a child is sleeping in blankets of banana
and poetry of Langston Hughes
words i do not know by head
only by heart

o say can you see
by the rush hour traffic bite
the dreams of the undergrad 
because nothing is $1 anymore

o say can you see
by the dawn’s early light
the lyrics of Harlem
full of love and humor and anger too
still woven into the stars and stripes of our Fourth of July

o say can you see
by the dawn’s early night
the church choir singing an’ a stomping and clapping out
to the imaginations of my mind
in glorious robes of every color and nation and sex and god

intoxicating memories of Star-Spangled Banner
and the dreams of the immigrants
proud and hopeful
ready to salute and serve and be
American in every right