america

Today is the New York Primary, in which I am about to go vote, and I thought a thematic sonnet for the occasion seemed appropriate. I also really, really love this poem. If you live in New York, please vote today!

Although she feeds me bread of bitterness,
And sinks into my throat her tiger’s tooth,
Stealing my breath of life, I will confess
I love this cultured hell that tests my youth.
Her vigor flows like tides into my blood,
Giving me strength erect against her hate,
Her bigness sweeps my being like a flood.
Yet, as a rebel fronts a king in state,
I stand within her walls with not a shred
Of terror, malice, not a word of jeer.
Darkly I gaze into the days ahead,
And see her might and granite wonders there,
Beneath the touch of Time’s unerring hand,
Like priceless treasures sinking in the sand.

—Claude McKay (1889-1948), "America," from Liberator (December 1921).