Patriot

I became a patriot
when I was eight
during World War II.
I pledged my allegiance,
had a victory garden,
knew the words
on the Statue of Liberty.
Put my hands together
every night to ask
that no child be
hungry, cold, or afraid.
The war ended in 1945.

I watched proudly
as my America made gains
in medicine, solar, wind power,
explorations in space,
women’s rights, gay rights,
and minority rights,
integrated schools,
elected our first Black president,
and so much more.

Eighty years have passed.
Today, armed military
patrol our streets.
Tonight, I put my hands together
to ask that no one
is hungry, cold, or afraid
in my America.

Peggy Trojan's recent release, a collection about her father, titled PA, won second in the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets Chapbook contest in 2022. Her latest chapbook is entitled Ma, a collection about her mother. She is the author of two full collections and eight chapbooks, available on Amazon.