Forefathers Poem by Randy McClave

Our forefathers came over on the Mayflower
Please don't hoot and holler,
They came over here on a rickety old boat
Not knowing if it could weather a storm or even float.
They didn't know if the ship was seaworthy
Or if they'd get eaten by sharks, get robbed by pirates, or get scurvy,
Or maybe they would all drown
And maybe they would miss their departed city or town.
People might say their family came over on the Mayflower all right
And for their children they did suffer and fight,
But, let's remember who was on the Mayflower and who was not
Where freedom, liberty, and a future was sought.
The King was not on the Mayflower for that trip
And nobody that the king wanted to keep around was on that ship,
But, we all have or heard this fictional story
Filled with dreams and excitement and so much glory.
It's almost like we believe sometime around 1642
A British father somewhere in England said this to his family too,
After gathering them around the fireplace in the morning and said
I know that we're doing good, but you know what I was thinking instead.
We got this great big castle and we got all this gold
I know it's brilliant and fantastic as many times I've been told,
You played with the king's children last week at the palace
And his servants even told you about their callus.
My idea is as follows and is as thus
Let's gather up all our things and in my beliefs trust,
We have a lot of possessions because we're doing really well
We're rich and we're powerful as everyone can tell.
Gather up your stuff, we are gonna get on a boat that is big
Now this is the important part, this will be an adventure on that rig,
So, what do you say if that didn't happen then
Before, their great and exciting adventures ever did begin.
The winners didn't get on a boat to sail away
The winners had no reason to leave their country on any given day,
And of course there is no shame or embarrassment in that
And of course this is all pure fact.
There is no shame at being a loser in fact let me tell you something
No man is better than me, even if it is the king,
There's something beautiful about the losers saying we're done with losing
And this was their very own choice and their own choosing.
They were rebelling against that and wanting to carve out a new life
As does every man does when he takes a woman as his wife,
But, you know what else is as every bit as beautiful
They did it all because it's also dutiful.
When folks in Mexico and in Guatemala come to our country to do it
It reminds me of why our country was formed and our constitution was writ,
If our families countries were contiguous to the United States I believe
They would head to our great country and would never leave.
In the early 1900s if Russia or Germany were where Mexico is
Wouldn't the Jews and their families want to come here to live,
Do we actually want to believe that they would have said no
They would love to feed their family and keep them safe, but they can't go.
There are these laws and they did and done what they had to do
So, this whole thing about documented and undocumented is a lie which is true,
This artificial narrative of who's documented and who's not
Remember, all names are in the Gods book of life and it will never be forgot.
Laws are always passed by the people in power
The people who live in splendor, high and above all in their ivory tower,
It has nothing to do with inherent morality or an ethic
Believing that is lies and very pathetic.
Before you tell me the struggles and how your family arrived here
And the country of their birth, their origin and the year,
It has to do with the reason to love and live and survive
And any of our families would had immigrated to keep their families alive.

Randy L. McClave