Myth America, every year she's crowned
she promises world peace.

There she goes, teetering on high heels,strutting her stuff on the boulevard
of broken American dreams.

Myth America, your makeup was tested
on chimpanzees, your labiaplasty was
outsourced,
and your nose job is not kosher.

Rumor has it your boobs are fake, your
smile is botoxed,
and your bikini was made in China.
Myth America, your more service-
oriented sister, the Statue of Liberty, is not amused.

We admit your smile is nice
and you can't be blamed for posing nude
when you were younger
(who couldn't use the extra cash?)
but your clichés are as tiredas the streets on which your homeless
sleep.

There she goes, Myth America,
superpower with a strapless gown
and a rotting infrastructure,
mad money in her purse
and a trillion-dollar budget deficit.
Hey, sister, can you spare an F-35 Joint
Strike Fighter?

We must admit your congeniality is
refreshing
but, honestly, we've seen prettier faces at
the post office,
the diner, the hardware store.

Myth America, you borrowed The
Constitution
from the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Nations)
but left out the parts about peace, respect
for women,
and Mother Earth, oh!, and by the way, the
very Nations
from whom you borrowed.

We understand the King was not nice:
"He has affected to render the military
independent of and superior
to civil power . . .

"He has erected a multitude of new offices,
and sent hither swarms
of officers to harass our people, and eat out
their substance...

"He has plundered our seas, ravaged our
coasts, burned our towns,
and destroyed the lives of our people . . .
"In every stage of these oppressions we
have petitioned for redress
in the most humble terms: our repeated
petitions have been answered
only by repeated injury . . ."

Yes, We understand the King was not nice
but (look in the monitor) your corporate-
status-quo has become
like the thing you ran away from, and even
back then
it was nasty from the get-go when you
bad-mouthed the Natives:"He has excited domestic insurrections
amongst us,
and has endeavored to bring on the
inhabitants of our frontiers,
the merciless Indian savages, whose
known rule of warfare,
is undistinguished destruction of all ages,
sexes and conditions."

And because of pathological bad-mouthing
you developed a lisp, Myth America.
Now you can barely speak clearly,
your corporate media has a speech
impediment(no offense to those with genuine
conditions),
you stumble over your answers, and too
many of your audience
are babbling with forked tongues at the all-
you-can-eat buffet.

Even with a college education you
misinterpret.Look, you were given the right
"to petition the Government for a redress
of grievances" but instead of petitioning
you go to J.C. Penny
to buy another dress, which yes, makes you
feel better
but you've become a legend in your own
mindlessness.

And do you know why they call it J.C.
Penny?
Jesus Christ, those dresses cost pennies
to make in sweatshops!
That was just a joke until We looked it up,
well, We didn't crunch
the numbers but . . .

There she goes, Myth America . . .
come to your senses, and do something
about the "injuries and usurpations" and
admit to yourself
that you're having a really nasty hair day
(even one "my bad!" would boost your
approval rating),
and by the way, fix that damned overbite,
here's the number for a specialist in
Thailand . . .there she goes,
Myth America . . .

Notes

Quotes from "The Declaration of Independence" and "First Amendment."
"Question your goods. Vote with your wallet." 
&
 Press Release: "75,000 Shoppers To JC Penney: Don't Break Promises To Families Of Workers Burned Alive In Factory Fire"
"Globally, the most popular dental tourist destination happens to be Thailand."

READ MORE OF MANKH'S POEMS AND ESSAYS ON AXIS OF LOGIC

Mankh (Walter E. Harris III) is an essayist and resident poet on Axis of Logic. In addition to his work as a writer, he is a small press publisher and Turtle Islander. He edited and published the book, The (Un)Occupy Movement: Autonomy of Consciousness, Practical Solutions, Human Equality, and hosts an audio show "Between the Lines: listening to literature online." You can contact him via his literary website.