The stars flash white amid royal blue,
As snowy lines bend to the breeze;
Dancing, curling, rippling red blood lines–
The crisp snap of cloth while riding high.
The teachings and trust are deeply rooted,
As all the children stand tall and proud;
Hand on heart, eyes cast upward: liberty drips from little lips–
The haunting echo of words in a one-room schoolhouse.
The guards have them lined up now; the roar of planes above,
As the innocent are made suspect and filled with fear;
Patting, rummaging, questioning to demonstrate control–
The price of rights for temporary security.
The McCarthyism’s quiet; replaced by a patriotic act against themselves,
As a robotic, airbrushed man reads the morning headlines;
Hands on mouth, eyes closed tightly, ears deaf and dull–
The Whiskey Rebellion was the least of their worries.
The stars are yellow against slate grey,
As faded lines wilt in still air;
Drooping, wrinkling, dying blood lines–
The dead silence of a flag at half mast.
A whisper is left
And carried on the wind,
To fly with dandelion seeds–
To be forgotten and faded in the distance.
Details
The government is merely a servant–merely a temporary servant; it cannot be its prerogative to determine what is right and what is wrong, and decide who is a patriot and who isn’t. Its function is to obey orders, not originate them.—Mark Twain
Lelia Thomas, about 1 year ago
Uh…anyone know how to properly format these verses? Until then, it’s more readable at http://www.leliathomas.com/2007/02/11/faded-stars-and-stripes/
AnnH, about 1 year ago
No problem feeling it Lelia. In the sands I see ruins from other proud conquerors of their known world but teachings are of the human spirit and are deep rooted and spring up again perhaps else where and flower.
AnnH, about 1 year ago
I love your portfolio particularly No Worries I would love to see how you would illustrate your own poetry
Pilgrim
,
about 1 year ago
Leila, the easiest way to do the formatting is to use a double return between the lines. If you do this they wont wrap around.
And in relation to your poem, thank you. It takes you on a wonderful and worrying journey from the heartland to the emerging desperation. We need more poetry, more art, more thinking and then out of this the dream of liberty will be renewed.
RedBubble, about 1 year ago
Leila, the formatting problem is a bug – Pilgrim’s solution works for the time being – will get a fix out in next release in a few weeks.
michael delmar, about 1 year ago
Thank you for that piece. The prose is beautiful without needing traditional formatting.
Xavier Russo, about 1 year ago
Great poem Lelia – very evocative and powerful.
On the formatting note, you can add a line return by putting “br/” (without the quotes) inside <> brackets. This will help keep the lines of a verse together.