A Far Distant Country

I have been away
In a far country.
In a free country
I would have expected to see,
       upon my return -
All-female bars and even restaurants, and
All-male ones, and
All-LGBT ones, and
All-black ones, and
All-white ones, and
All-Japanese ones, and
All-Korean ones, and
All-Catholic ones, and
All-Protestant ones, and
All-Jewish ones, and
All-Islamic ones -
      to say, people
                 celebrating
Their differences
             as well as
Their similarities
         as Americans,
In the Great Melting Pot
With all the different
              flavors
              in it.

I am saying that
If it were to be
A free country
Truly, there would be
Some signs of it.
   Instead, I see
Rules
Regulations
Disapproval signs
On every corner
So to speak.
'Walk this way.
Not that way' -
     that is to say,
The natural way
You might have been inclined to
Had you been allowed
                    to grow
      that way.
And Time would take care
Of the rest
Of the process
Of people, learning
To live with one another
          as the children
Of the same Creator.

Perhaps
We need
A fresh start.

Yes.
That's
It.