which America?
will you ever read this?
which America?
will you even read this?
we have seen the darkest side of freedom
flags on staffs wielded as weapons
the misinterpretation of Gadsden
the Battle Flag of Northern Virginia
co-opted by a misinformed majority
a context to perpetuate points of view
that could be only be described as expiring.
who do you want to be, America?
what is American Exceptionalism?
is it a Department of Defense masquerading as a
unique entity, a projection of strength,
which actually exists as a social works program.
( shhhh, don’t tell anyone….” )
how does your Socialism feel?
we have seen the Pettus Bridge
we have persevered beyond Mississippi,
when it was burning.
hearing fifteen year old girls in Arkansas
casually drop the N Word in private
to musicians from the North
who were making money in the South,
led us to leave town, and drive to the next gig
in Georgia.
we have seen America.
we have seen the darkest side of freedom.
it is a bomb perpetuated in Oklahoma City
it is a cult siege in Waco
it is a White Bronco heading slowly
down the freeway,
while helicopters hover in place.
we have seen Ferguson and Minneapolis,
Breonna Taylor’s killers
still walk among us.
we have seen America
lay waste to the thatch huts,
to the Baghdad neighborhoods,
as clearly as we have seen
the tank brigades in the hedgerows
and landing craft on the beachhead.
we have seen the protests-
to dismantle Wall Street
to defund the Police
to dismantle The State
where is the future we all subscribe to?
it is
American Exceptionalism.
Exceptionalism requires a definition of Quality,
and Maintenance.
without maintenance, quality ceases to exist.
without maintenance, quality ceases to exist.
without maintenance, quality ceases to exist.
(thematic inspiration from Robert Pirsig)
\
Reader Comments
Troubled waters we are in. And so much we are learning about the people we know, people we sat shoulder-to-shoulder with since grade school. How did we come to see the world so differently?