Naturalized

By Sandi K. Johnson

I dotted my i’s 

& crossed my t’s

2X — 3X 

before my naturalization 

Uncle Sam doesn’t grant refund—

not to refugees, asylees

nor green card holders

I was one of the lucky ones

with cognitive test & W-2s

I denied my birth land

gaining US citizenship

in a land that stamped me Black

and tossed me with the rest

hanging on eroded history

_________________________________

Sandi K. Johnson

Naturalized U.S. citizen from Liberia. She is a cross-genre writer and English professor in Texas. Holds a BA & MA in English from Mt. Mary University and an MFA in Poetry from Carlow University. Published works: National Book Foundation, Solstice Literary Magazine, The Bayou Review, Watershed Journal, Presence: A Journal of Catholic Poetry, Northern Appalachia Review, and elsewhere. Awards: 2009 Solstice Institute for Diverse Voices Prize and the 2021 Stephen Dunn Poetry Prize. Forthcoming publications: Dubeloving Anthology for Immigrant Writers from Dublin, Ireland and Flip The Script Publishing for the Darling Nikki: An Anthology Series, Volume 2 coming out December 2026.