Seattle 8th grade TOPS student Ada Rosen was inspired to write this poem after her visit to   Bainbridge Island on April 29, 2015 to learn more about Japanese American Exclusion during WWII. The students from The Options Program at Seward made their annual visit to Bainbridge Island in April. As part of the OWWCC heritage education program conducted jointly through Bainbridge Island Historical Museum and EduCulture, students toured Historic Suyematsu Farm, had the opportunity to have lunch and talk with elders who had experienced exclusion, viewed the documentary Visible Target, and visited the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial. Thank you to Ada for generously sharing her poem.

American Dream (Incarceration)

by Ada Rosen

Thousands of feet step onto new land

Stoic faces hiding broken hearts

Can’t go home, can’t cry out, can’t fight back

Won’t fight back

 

Can you imagine fitting your home in a handbag?

What do you pack for a destination unknown?

These kids have never even been off the island

Isn’t camp supposed to be fun?

 

 We all came here to live the American dream

For some of us it’s easier

Those who can fit in don’t get singled out

It’s easy to live freely when you are white

 

At the camps they sleep in animal stalls

What does that say about their humanity?

Every day they line up for their meals

Then once again to get sick in the restrooms

 

 Theresa never got to meet her little brother

The first time she saw him was the day of his funeral

You’re lucky if your parents have a good job

And can afford to buy you postcards

 

Suicides in the river are a regular occurrence

The only way you can control your life is by taking it

Maybe you can catch a glimpse of freedom through the barbed wire

And the kids still think they are on vacation

 

Then it’s over

Uprooted again in the name of release

Staying in camp might be better than facing the real world

Is my family supposed to live off twenty five dollars?

 

It was better to bury the past

But I’m glad we’re talking about it now

Those who fail to learn from history

Are doomed to repeat it

Repeat it

Repeat it