revolution is here,
the revolution that took this
land from the British
who didn’t really want it.
(And to whom it
didn't really belong.)
Or was it from the tribes,
who did?
We didn’t so much fight
the Indians for it
as slaughter them
and steal it.
We need a National Apology Day.
I guess they played their
part in the gruesome mess too,
But really?
...and I've got a bell...
What is this celebration about?Who had the most
firepower?
Who shed the most blood?
Every year we re-enact it
with noisy bursts of color
exploding in the sky.
Who has the most
rocket power?
...and I've got a song to sing...
In the
gardenin the cool
air of early morning––
before the heat
pulls up its moist blanket
and the smoke from the
wildfires at the coast
floats silently
into the atmosphere
100 miles from the burn––
the real fireworks
are erupting.
Purple pink white
crepe myrtle
explode in all directions,
the summer phlox spray their
purple from green stems,
the salvia flings
pink confetti into the air,
and the red-winged
firecracker cuphea
fly this way and that.
The dragonfly views
green on green on green euphorbialike fireworks from a jetplane.
A stand of tiger lilies
yawn their petals into stars
then curl back on themselves
like the shape-shifting
fireworks
that you can’t look away from
or you miss the beginning.
The petunias cast faces
upward like children
on blankets when
the spectacle begins.
...all over this land.
Independence––it’s a good thing.
It’s a good country.
It could be better.
It's the hammer of justice...
My coffee was 2 cents cheaper today,
a drop in sales tax.
“A drop in the bucket,”
says the cashier at the cafe.
“What about my student
loans? They can
have the 2 cents.”
When will independence
come for her?
...it's the bell of freedom...
And what about those we
stepped on to
get here?
What about the
Apache?
Choctaw?
Cherokee?
What about the
boatloads of Africans?
What about the ones
we keep stepping on?
The "alien" immigrants,
the women,
the sick,
the old,
the gays,
the poor?
When will independence
come for them?
When will there be
"and justice for all'?
...it's the song about love between
my brothers and my sisters...
Keep Independence Day.
And add
National Justice Day.
...all over this land.
(If I Had a Hammer, lyrics by Lee Hays and Pete Seeger, 1958. Playing at the cafe as I get my coffee. )
2 comments:
Greatchen, All I can say is WOW! You are a poet for sure. And you have lots to say. To take your words and to mix them in with the song was very powerful. I could see every single blossom and petal as you described them and indeed, they are like fireworks.
Yes, very powerful and poetic. Poetic justice from a caring American.
From a friend of a friend...
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