Star-Spangled Banter

Hey, over there. Did you see that bright flare?
All through the night, ‘twas such an awful fight.
Who’s outta sorts, bombarding some old fort?
What is their beef, to give us so much grief?

Whoa, look at that, it came through the whole spat!
With stripes and stars, that flag there is still ours.
It didn’t come down, despite bombs all around --
It's in tatters, but some holes don’t matter.

That’s the spirit, you love it or fear it,
But not defeat people who won’t retreat.
They die for cause when other folks might pause.
They will be free whatever cost may be.

So, hoist the flag and let it for us brag,
Don’t tread on us, we’re just too full of cuss,
We will rebound, you cannot keep us down --
Thanks for the shells, we'll make Liberty Bells.

Frozen in Time

Oh, woe to the statue frozen in time,
No way to answer now for a past crime.
Perhaps it was legal when you did live,
But by today’s laws, some will not forgive.

You, living citizen, may speak your mind –
Our rights are the same, you truly should find.
You may offend me, and perhaps enrage,
But if so, no gripe, if I too engage.

Majority may rule, but not suppress
Ideals of others they need to express.
You need not replace my ideas with yours –
We should resolve this without starting wars.

History of conquest is that of crime –
Both winners and losers harmed for all time.
Bloodied by evils never to erase;
Peace halts the action, but not the disgrace.

And later they may try to reconcile,
After years and regrets build a sorry pile.
Victors offer losers some platitudes
And ask both to change their old attitudes.
.
They ask to be forgiven their success
And past mutual vengeance to excess.
Let bygones be gone and go on from here –
May not be what the others want to hear.

I have seen statues, silent in the park,
With no idea of their long deceased spark.
Perhaps a plaque to tell me their name,
Maybe a few words about their past fame.

I have never seen their worst faults proclaimed;
Virtues are extolled and vices left unnamed.
But if you know enough of history,
You can launch into angry sophistry.

You may argue with that cold block of stone,
But it will not answer, never atone.
It is not a he (or she) anymore,
Just an expression, inert on the floor.

That’s right, it is an idea, just not your own –
You may object and request to dethrone.
But tolerance of your thought and ideal
Arise from your caring how others feel.

If you strike out with angry destruction,
Some understand frustration’s seduction.
But the mob’s cheer isn’t the vote of support
To persuade in public opinion’s court.

So, let’s you and I talk and decide this
And leave the statues in their uncaring bliss.
We might forgive what we may not forget,
And reform a future, with the past set.

Under the Powdered Wig

Under the Powdered Wig

Without phone, light bulb, nor power of steam,
Our Founders forged the American dream.
Esteemed and praised, they guide us even now
With their thoughts to the laws they did endow.

We discuss what were the Founders' intents
As we parse our historic documents.
We oft forget they all did not agree,
But would trade one's wishes for all's liberty.

Do our minds today differ much from theirs?
Are ours a new set of worries and cares?
Or did they leave lessons on how to cope

With whatever new ages bring within our scope?

We need not stop thinking at pauses long past
Where they then decided on what then was asked.
They taught us to keep growing our country
With rules to talk and choose now as our key.