A Flag for All to Flee (Thoughts for the Fourth of July)

I was driving to work today,
Saw the American flag flying over there,
Symbol of shame now every time I see it.
Symbol of prisoners piled in a pyramid,
Naked prisoners piled up for the world to see.

I admired the flag, as a Boy Scout revered it.
Raised the flag every morning in junior high,
Lowered it at the end of the day.
Don't let it touch the ground, fold it properly,
Treat it with respect.

Everyone and his neighbor
Flew that flag after 9/11,
Till they were tiny little rags
Tied off on radio antennae of cars
Going sixty miles an hour.

The skull and bones stand next to the stars and stripes.
The white red and blue meant help is on the way,
Rescue prisoners from the swastika, the sickle, the rising sun.
Now we see intimidation, murder, ruthless rape and coercion.
What do people think now when our flag comes over the horizon?

Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, Bagram AFB.
Extraordinary rendition and robust interrogation,
Waterboards, electrical wires, wanton cruelty and control.
Dead prisoners everywhere, died in custody.
Our own little holocaust, take pictures for the world to see.

Our soldiers and sailors serve the flag,
Honor its spirit of freedom wherever they go.
They trust our leaders to deploy them in good faith.
Many return home with a flag around their coffin,
No pictures allowed then.

The flag's not something we revere
Only out of pride for our country.
As it matters to others, it matters to us.
It stood for all the best in the world,
Glorious, sturdy hope for good men and women.

“My dream is of a place and time
Where America will once again be seen
As the last best hope of earth.”
Lincoln wrote in the middle of a struggle
That looked so endless, so bleak and so hopeless.

Our dream vanished in Baghdad,
An appalling invasion gave it to our enemies.
One suicide bomber after another blew it up.
Our hope brittle with fear, our constitution dead,
Buried with blood under that pyramid.

The shock toppled us, scored and scared us.
The twin towers fell and we didn't know what to do.
Step up now, lead the world for the fight to come,
We chose shock and awe, fear, folly and revenge.
Our time is over, and it lasted such a short time.