Last night, in my slumber, I had a dream
It was an American one, one of exceptional encouragement
And oh the intricacy of this grand scheme
So grand, the world knew it was nowhere near forspent

I glanced at my burgundy shoes, securing the eight hundred dollars in my pocket
And seized the evidence of my existence, the two modest suitcases I held in my hands
The command of opportunity would infuse itself into my handsome faux gold locket
And due to my insistence I carried a Nigerian passport, my doorway to foreign lands
My name was Nwokoye Onyiorah - I was my father

In 1959, I treaded off the plane that soared from Puerto Rico to New York
To the borough of the Bronx more precisely, where I bought my first pair of snow boots
A nineteen year old seamstress, I knew for my future in this city I must work
And for forty years, my sewing machine and I crafter elegant men’s suits
My name was Leticia Tapia – I was my grandmother

I stitched the robust materials of math and science that fashioned the subject of physics
But I felt that this plain garment needed more design; perhaps a large print of E = mc2
And when World War II was triggered by Germany's disintegrating economics
The magnificent land of the United States would tell you how well I faired
I was a pioneer, and my name was Albert Einstein

I can justly utter that science enabled me to craft my own image in the book of history
After the trolley accident that left me broken I had only the strength to lift a paintbrush
So I painted what I knew best: myself, on the U.S.-Mexican border as a sign of victory
Triumph over my woe and the stubbornness of the artist in me I could never crush
I was an artist, and my name was Frida Kahlo

Art presents itself in numerous forms and I painted an image using my voice and music
I sprinkled a little azúcar here and some sugar there as salsa spread across the west
And when Cuba fell into a new regime, New Jersey had yet to leave me nostalgic
It was a place I could express my sentiment without the fear of being suppressed
I was a performer, and my name was Celia Cruz

The microphone was born of a creation of the late 1800’s, a device called the telephone
With the dynamic acoustics of sound and the ever-changing substance of technology
I hurriedly patented my invention in the U.S. rather than Scotland, a race I couldn’t postpone
And it led to the enrichment and the social connection of individual psychology
I was an innovator, and my name was Alexander Graham Bell

Still, other forms of communication did not seize to exist, so I decided to compose a book
About my experience as a Romanian Jew during the abysmal times of the Holocaust
And how night would surround our camps in the glacial winter and how hard I shook
Now able to give speeches in the States about my journey and all that I had lost
I was a political activist, and my name was Elie Wiesel

The 1700’s were indeed a time for the most profound and the most persuasive speeches
The Declaration of Independence was underway and soon after that, the Constitution
And though many had doubts about the separation from Britain and the level America reaches
I had faith that my country would prosper and subsist through the American Revolution
I was a Founding Father, and my name was Benjamin Franklin

But then reality began to sink in soon before I awoke from my dream
I noticed I had accomplished a great deal when I was another person
Yet none of them were truly my own I must deem
So last night I vowed to leave my own legacy by my own exertion
My name is Fortune Onyiorah, and I am me