My friend Rev. Dr. Thomas Sabel and I have known each other since 1972. Tom served in the U.S. military, is a professor, and is a Lutheran pastor. He is also a very good poet. Dear America is a set of 22 short postcards Tom wrote to his country: part love letter, part complaint, from someone who still cares enough to say what hurts. We are publishing them in five parts, all at once, in the order Tom wrote them. — Robert K. Green, Ph.D.
Dear America,
When did we begin burning the furniture for firewood, cannibalizing the house you taught us to love? All we have now are ashes.
Dear America,
When did you stop caring for your children? You force chess pieces into their stubby hands and make them play the political games they always lose.
Dear America,
When did the past look so much better than the future? Was it when Ronnie Reagan passed out rose-colored glasses along with the infection for nostalgia? No one realized how crippling that disease is, or how chronic.
Dear America,
I hope you’ll soon discover tomorrow.
Which postcard would you send to America? Leave yours in the comments.
Read the whole series: Part 1 · Part 2 · Part 3 · Part 4 · Part 5
Poems © 2026 Thomas Sabel. Published with the author’s permission.
