by KP Liles
 |
| United States Post Office, Miami FL, 1922 Photo by William Arthur Fishbaugh,1873-1950 |
You could vote
and laugh
with dragonfire force.
You could mail letters,
medicine, the Hope Diamond,
at the Post Office.
You could dine out
indoors. You could visit
splendid national parks.
You could chat
or argue with neighbors
then shake hands afterward.
You could travel
anywhere you could afford.
If you were Black,
Muslim, or loved someone
counter to expectations,
you could
prove greater joy.
You could imagine.
You could hear more
than one voice, one name
night and day, in print,
onscreen, on-air
or in dreams.
You could feel
faith’s traction.
We had global foods.
Unlimited entertainment.
Such glorious sport—
you’d start cheering
at “land of the free...”
That crowd’s roar!
You could give children
roof, ice cream, ambition
and sleep well for it.
More or less everything
was possible
if you could believe.
KP Liles has penned two poetry collections, Singing Back the Darkness (NYQ Books) and Spring Hunger (Plain View Press). He currently lives in the New Orleans metropolitan area.