I am the American Girl

I am the American girl.

I come from all sections of the country,

From the orange groves of California, from the wheatfields of the Midwest,

From the big cities of the East.

 

My eyes are as blue as a Texas sky, as grey as a New England day,

As clear and far-seeing as the prairies themselves.

I love the same things that girls everywhere love—

The tense thrill of an autumn football game, weekend proms,

A leisurely Coca-Cola with my friends at the drugstore after school,

Laughter around the family dinner table at night, walking to church on bright Sunday mornings,

My school, my home.

 

I feel a deep and lasting pride in my country,

In its long and glorious history, in hearing the national anthem,

Although I don't talk about them much.

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I think more about the war news, far off lands

And battlefields that I never even knew existed until so recently

I've learned to recognize the insignias of all the branches of the armed forces.

I write letters to the boys that war them overseas

And in training camps all over the country. ​

 

I spend my spare time working in the U.S.O. or some canteen

Or taking Red Cross courses

But I still feel that I am not doing enough.

I have less time for movies, Harpers Bazaar,

And last years suits are more fashionable than new ones. ​

 

I am young and in many ways inexperienced

But I have faith in the future,

In the bright new world of tomorrow,

In laughter, in love and in tolerance. ​

 

I am the American girl.

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This poem was included in the 1943 spring edition of The Venturer. 

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