Anniversary of Declaration
By Craig Kirchner
To conduct a democratic experiment required men,
men of vision and courage, there was comradery and grandeur.
We learned that any humanitarian cause does not include
slavery and we are learning now it does not include cowards.
We are a land of immigrants who were all running from ugly
but are now running ugly up the flagpole to get rid of immigrants.
The spirit that brought our forefathers here is the same spirit
that brings these victims, some of our best citizens now,
who are being attacked in the name of patriotism.
Ugly and crass are embedded. Something disastrous is coming.
Everyone can feel it, everyone knows the fear
they are supposed to. As we prepare to celebrate the flag,
the Liberty Bell looks poised to ring in the unimaginable.
We no longer defend those in need of it, we fight each other
over petty principles with a backdrop of ideology
that caused histories of war in the recent past.
Before peace there is always conflict,
our conflict never seems to be over.
We invade our own neighborhoods now
like they were terrorist camps in third world countries,
killing mothers in the streets, our citizens, people
who would have been at the front of the line celebrating
in those same streets our birthday of freedom.
This ... this, is our celebration after 250 years of struggle.
Civil rights marches, assassinations, Kent State,
all our efforts to become a more perfect union, to become,
the shining city on the hill – this is it ... think again.
Hate, fear, ignorance breed hopelessness, cynicism,
knows no unification. Cowards do not unify,
greed does not bring us together. A new unification
can only come from our better selves, it will take
desire stronger than that of those that would keep us
running on the treadmill in the name of their need for more.
Armies in the streets need to go home, this regime
will pass as did those before it, they are cheap veneers
that will crack, bullies that will fold, they will eat one another.
The derelict force trained to create violence as a theatre of fear,
with gear purchased with our taxes, needs to be abolished.
The rocks they came out from under need to be overturned.
The next time generals and admirals are brought together
and told of their duty to kill their fellow countrymen,
they need to get up and leave, in the names of their children.
The same children, a good piece of which will be traumatized
for life. Christ said, Let the little children come to me.
DHS sends them to Dilly, Texas - in Christ’s name, in our name.
All children living in America must be made to think they are safe,
protected by their government - no one is coming for them,
they can once again go to school, church, the corner store.
They and only they, can reset this experiment.
Then and only then will we know, be sure, this is once again
America, and that we respect ourselves and one another
enough to celebrate and invite the world to do the same.
Craig Kirchner is retired and living in Jacksonville, because that’s where his granddaughters are. He loves the aesthetics of writing, has a book of poetry, Roomful of Navels and has been nominated three times for Pushcart. He was recently published in Chiron Review, Main Street Rag, The Wise Owl, Breathe, The Wilderness House and dozens of others. He houses 500 books in his office and about 400 poems on a laptop, these words help keep him straight.