During a recent cross-country drive across several states, I noticed how many yahoos sported the American flag on their cars and houses, but never bothered to honor it by taking it down at night (it should never be left in the dark) or retiring it once it fades out, cracks to bits, or wastes away.
It dawned on me that this must be how these Americans actually feel about their country and the constitutional ideals upon which it is founded. They may boast and brag about how great America is, but actions speak so much louder than words. You show me exactly what you think the ideals that founded this country are worth when you let the flag that represents them waste away in plain view of the world—Something that once upon a time would win you a citation.
Burning the Flag
Cracked and faded in the sun,
sported emblems lose their hue,
unretired and weather-torn.
Exposure to the elements betrays
emotional and mental negligence
to burning disregard for heritage.
Bumper stickers age too soon;
paper pride is left to wane,
cracked and faded in the sun
on well-kept pickup trucks and long sedans
beside some slogan spouting malcontent;
emotional and mental negligence
flies atop the roofs of cars—
sooty clown-ears deeply stained,
unretired and weather-torn.
Support is shown as mere velleity,
a symbol posted like an afterthought
beside some slogan spouting malcontent,
just another brittle sign
taking on a dirty tinge,
cracked and faded in the sun.
What shone for Francis Key one failing night
is treated now like any corporate logo,
a symbol posted like an afterthought.
Freedom flails on autumn winds,
half-remembered, growing pale,
unretired and weather-torn.
Abandoned to an apathy’s pollution,
the dream Old Glory strives to represent
is treated now like any corporate logo.
Banners rip on plastic stands,
unsaluted dawn to dusk,
cracked and faded in the sun,
unretired and weather-torn.
As mildew rots the fabric of the States,
exposure to the elements betrays
the dream Old Glory strives to represent
to burning disregard for heritage.
This is my 9th hybridanelle poem.
