[I Am Waiting] By Lawrence Ferlinghetti

“I Am Waiting” is one of several poems from the Beat Movement that addresses this concept of the lost America. The narrator lists an abundance of things that he is waiting for, “a rebirth of wonder/someone to really discover America//the final withering away of all governments//the forest animals to reclaim the earth as there’s/a way to be devised to destroy all nationalisms without killing anybody”. America was supposedly founded on the ideals of being “the land of the free and the home of the brave”, however, it is clear that this freedom only belonged to an elite minority of people. Writers from the Beat Generation consider this concept of reshaping America into what it was meant to be in the first place. A land with freedom for all people. A land that welcomes those deemed to be “misfit” or “other”. To allow America to continue down the path of oppression and corruption will lead to it’s ultimate destruction. We must come together with open minds and open hearts in order to “rediscover America” as a land where all people can be free no matter their race, religion, sex, gender etc. If we can not come together to acknowledge and appreciate each others differences in order to create a better society then we shall fail in saving this concept of America as the land of the free.

[America] by Robert Creeley

In many aspects Creeley’s poem can be seen as a direct response to Ferlinghetti’s “I Am Waiting”. Creely proposes that America “Give back the people you took//let the sun shine again on the four corners of the world//give back.” America was founded using genocide and colonization. In order to reshape America into this “rebirth of wonder” we must start by giving back to the people who have suffered for generations upon generations at the hands of a white-supremacist-patriarchal America layered with overlapping oppression and corruption. We must fight hatred and fear with love and acceptance. Our modern era is a critical point in history where America has the potential to either transform or crumble, and we must remain active and awake if we are to spur positive and productive change.