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 your citizens stop trusting you—was it Vietnam? Those veterans have grown and many are gone.
Dear America,
When did you stop trusting your citizens? You put us all under suspicion like we are terrorists.
Dear America,
What made us so afraid that we have to carry guns to the grocery store? Will you have to teach me how to balance an assault rifle with a gallon of milk, a dozen eggs, and a package of Huggies?
Dear America,
When did my neighbors become so terrifying that I have to arm myself against their threat? You know who I’m talking about, the young couple with the toddler and the beagle that welcomes with a bark. How soon will they attack?
Dear America,
When did we split into so many tribes in peculiar tattoos? I don’t mind the ink, only the division ink brings.
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.
