there is a crack in the liberty bell

now and through our history as well
its tintinnabulation is as weak as our nation
when fundamental rights are denied

the bell’s melodic symphony is deadened by this litany:

mistreatment of …

native americans (clank)
african americans (clank)
women (clank)
immigrant minorities (clank)
the poor (clank)
the working class (clank)
lgbt (clank)
free thinkers (clank)
athiests (clank)
agnostics (clank)
scientists (clank)
thinkers (clank)
the educated (clank)
the poorly educated (clank)
etc. etc. etc. (clank) (clank) (clank)

there is a crack in the liberty bell
there are cracks in our civil rights as well

Paul Cech has been writing poetry since 1970. Several of his poems have been published as Saturday Poems in the Pittsburgh- Post Gazette and the Thomas Merton Center of Pittsburgh has published several of his poems in NewPeople. Read other articles by Paul.