Out of Line

kneeling on the line

head down

a nod to fallen comrades

lovers sisters brothers fathers mothers sons daughters friends

defying the red white blue facade

the home of the free is a lie

at home huddles of angry people are quick to condemn those who want

protection from the state’s brutality

you are more worried about the way we protest (violence free)

a patriotic symbol for ghost soldiers is more worthy of respect

than the brown and poor discarded

Nylon – 2-Ply Polyester –  Cotton

put the U.S.A stamp on anything

and suddenly you’re allowed to do everything

no one can question you

we can only follow

if not we are out of line

and must quickly be put back into our place

out of sight

you do not want to know we suffer

because if you do and do nothing

you’ll be caught between weakling and villain

we could tell you not to be afraid

but cannot because we are all afraid of tomorrow

high school history books put a tight bow on our past

bought us reassurance for awhile

we are living our history as we speak

defining it with our non-actions

human suffering is not over nor will it ever be

the bitter pill we must swallow

if we are to be righteous

we cannot be children who don’t know any better

Photo: Flag by Nick Pezzillo [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs]