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The America I Knew
I was young in the fifties, under porch-light gold,

with flags in the classrooms and stories we were told.

But behind every promise, behind every door,

there were wounds in the country we tried to ignore.
Some folks drank from fountains, some were turned away,
some walked home in silence at the end of the day.

I did not know the reason, but I felt it was true,

there was something broken in the America I knew.
Then brave hearts rose, and brave feet marched,

through the fire, through the scars.

They faced the hate, they took the pain,

and pulled this country toward the light again.
This is not the America I knew,

not the dream we fought to bring in view.

We opened the gates, we crossed the line,

we dragged old shadows into the light.

This is not the America I knew,

but I still believe in what we tried to do.
I saw doors swing open that were locked for years,

saw courage standing tall through the smoke and tears.

Saw children walk through hatred just to take their place,

with a book in their hands and the world on their face.
We built better laws, we learned better names,

we started calling wrong by its rightful shame.

Not perfect, not finished, but we carried it through,

and I found some pride in the America I knew.
But time can bend, and hearts can turn,

when people choose not to learn.

The same old lies, the same old fear,

are wearing new clothes and standing here.
This is not the America I knew,

not the dream we fought to bring in view.

We opened the gates, we crossed the line,

we dragged old shadows into the light.

This is not the America I knew,

but I still believe in what we tried to do.
Now the old hate has a louder song,

and the weak are told they do not belong.

The truth gets mocked, the cruel get praised,

and ignorance walks in a bright new blaze.
But I remember the better road,

the heavy cross, the honest load.

We came too far, we paid too much,

to trade our mercy for a fist and a grudge.
This is not the America I knew,

not the dream we fought to bring in view.

We opened the gates, we crossed the line,

we dragged old shadows into the light.
This is not the America I knew,

but I still believe in what we tried to do.

If the road is lost, we can find it again,

with open hands, not hatred of men.
This is not the America I knew,

but I still believe the dream was true.

Not the hate, not the lies, not the fear we outgrew,

I am still looking for the America I knew.
Not the hate we outgrew,

not the lies we once saw through.

I am still looking for the America,

the America I knew.
About this poem
a nostalgic reach into the past
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Quick analysis
View full analysis »Schemeaabb xcc xxdd CCEFCC gghh xxcc iixx CCEFCC jjxx kkxx CCEF CCdx Cccc ccxc
Closest metreIambic pentameter
Characters2,673
Words565
Stanzas14
Stanza lengths4, 3, 4, 6, 4, 4, 4, 6, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
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"Poetry.com" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LTD, 2026. Web. 13 Aug. 2026. <https://www.poetry.com/>.
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