The United States Welcomes You

Theft, like many other concepts in the poem, has many levels of meaning; this multiplicity of meanings is called being polysemic. The surface-level meaning of theft is a crime of illegally procuring something which does not belong to you and which will be investigated by law enforcement. The presumed intent to steal, the “wish to steal” (Line 2), is also treated as a crime by law enforcement. In other words, the supposed intent to steal is a common excuse for detaining and interrogating Black men and other dark-skinned minorities.

In addition to these two levels of meaning, theft also has a history as being used symbolically in love poetry, specifically sonnets. Since “The United States Welcomes You” resembles a sonnet in structure, Smith ironically uses this level of meaning. Instead of stealing a heart, which may be found “leaping in your chest” (Line 6), the second person “you” of the poem is being accused of stealing property. While stealing one’s heart is generally a good thing in love poetry, stealing property is a crime that can be used to justify unethical interrogations by law enforcement. This echoes the irony in the “welcome” of the title.