Carson Reed

RealPoetik's Independence Day Poem! By Carson Reed! Carson

(lodo1@aol.com) is a 15-year veteran of the Denver poetry scene.

His work has appeared in such publications as Rant, Yellow Silk, The New

Censor

ship, Bizara, Stick, and of course RealPoetik.

15,683

When I told T.J. I wanted to leave America, he got mad.

His 16-year-old self got red in the face and he said:

"Go then, have fun in your stinking foreign country with bad plumbing."

When I told Jeanne I wanted to leave America,

she was puzzled, she said:

"Do you really think there's a better country than this one?"

I said: "No, I don't think there's a better country than this one,

it's just that I'm all done in with being an American.

I wake up in the morning and it hits me:

Oh, gosh, I have to be an American again today,

this is my fifteen thousand six hundred and eighty third day of being

American."

Of course, it could be true that wherever I go I will still have to be an

American.

(I'm not familiar enough with foreigners to know if they will let me be

one

of them.)

It may be that being an American in a foreign country will be

invigorating,

people will enjoy it when I complain about the plumbing, they'll laugh and

say:

"Zat crazy American."

But I would like it better if I could wake up and be Italian or Greek.

(I don't know any Greeks but I read Zorba the Greek and he seemed to like

it.)

When I told my mother I wanted to leave America, she said:

"America will miss you."

And this was a lie, of course,

but a nice one that made me sad to go

even though, as you can see, I haven't actually left yet.

Before I go I wanted to get up here in front of everyone and say:

"No hard feelings, America.

You've all been really swell, and I will miss the plumbing."

-- Carson Reed