An American History

At a time when there were no cars,
At a time when women's voices,
Were silenced and their hopes dismissed,
She lived to see them stand up and,
Speak out and reach for the ballot.

There was despair in the dust bowl,
And depression across the land,
She saw a nation conquer fear
itself with a New Deal, new jobs,
A new sense of common purpose.

When the bombs fell on the harbor,
And tyranny threatened the world,
She was there to witness a new
generation rise to greatness,
And a democracy was saved.

This is a type of found poetry that I have created from President Barack Obama's acceptance speech in Chicago. This poem has syllabic meter, with eight syllables in every line. The poem also has repetition in the first two lines with the words "At a time", and alliteration in lines such as "generation rise to greatness" and "despair in the dust bowl". There is imagery used in lines such as "When the bombs fell on our harbor, And tyranny threatened the world", and personification in the phrase "saw a nation conquer fear". In addition, there are a lot of allusions in the poem to American history, such as the issue of slavery, the Great Depression and the "New Deal", and the bombing of Pearl Harbour during WWII. I believe that the all the references to history are meant to bring people together and make them feel united in their common past. This poem fits in with my theme because it shows the nature of history.