The Question of Loyalty

I thought this poem was really interesting, and gave me better insight into what being in the internment camps was really like for Japanese Americans, as opposed to just looking at a reading in a textbook. It was easier for the child to sign the "Loyalty Oath" because she did not have the connection to Japan as her mother, who questions what she will be if she signs the oath. She says she is "doubly loyal" to America and Japan, so she does not want to take sides, but it's like the oath is forcing her to. This is interesting to think about - What would you do if you had to sign that oath? What would you be?

- Josh Steffen