melting pot

they say it’s a melting pot
or a salad bowl
cultures up for consumption
whiteness eating its fill
and wasting the rest

america has an obesity problem
gluttonous from hate
prejudice
racism 

parading its multicultural menu
declaring itself reservation only
while decimating reservations
and using Indigenous prints
for decor and entertainment 

children go hungry
in a country full of soup
and filtered water
only available for those
who pre-pay 

well
that’s not quite true
a tab left open
for the rich
and pale
another round for the men
who didn’t build this restaurant
or patron it
but showed up on the grand opening
and declared it theirs 

so welcome to our
melting pot
salad bowl
a veritable buffet
of arrogance
ignorance
and poisoned nationalism