Independence Day Thoughts Poem by Eric Cockrell

if you've ever spent any time in jail,
you know how a caged animal feels...
now all of us here on the bottom end
of the economic system know this feeling again....
trapped, caged, angry, fearful....
it's not about color, religion, language, or whatever....
these are only the clothes we wear.
it's about human beings being disrespected,
about dignity and honor taken.
we went about our ways,
working, dreaming, just trying to live...
and turned a blind eye to what was going on...
now our indifference has bitten us!
but the courage of the individual,
the neighbor, and the family remain...
and it is in the grain of this tree
that the birds of freedom nest.
the human spirit defies the cage,
we will fly, or die...
it doesnt matter... these, our only choices!
we are destined to be human!
the open mind, the shared heart,
and joined hands, the sword we wave.
we will respect, and regain respect.
we will be free!