I am a veteran
And I see your shirt
That says because
I am a liberal
You assume
I am offended by
The Flag.
The Flag
I raised at dawn
As a college student
In my uniform
Pressed the night before
Dress Blues
At 5 in the morning
Walking across campus
So I could salute it
In the dark
While you in your shirt
Slept.
The Flag
At boot camp
The sound of retreat
Blasting from speakers
My feet covered in blisters
Sunburned cheeks
From the Texas summer
And relief that I made it
Through another day
Of formation
Of discipline
Of oaths
Of belting out
“Oh say does that Star Spangled Banner yet wave”
The Flag
And Constitution
I swore to protect
And defend
From enemies
Foreign
And domestic
Right hand raised
2nd Lieutenant
1st Lieutenant
Captain.
The Flag
Dusty in the orange storm
Held up by concrete barricades
In the Iraqi summer
And fall
And winter
And spring
While my toddler
And infant
And husband
Learned to walk
First day of preschool
Learned to read
Potty trained
Without me
At home.
The Flag
Given to me
Along with his ashes
By the Funeral Home Director
In his black suit
Folded perfectly
In a clear plastic case
To remind my children
That their father
Was a man
Who served.
The Flag
With the face
Plastered across it
Carried into
The White Palace
We call The Capitol
The word
TRUMP
Covering the
Stars
Stripes
Stolen.
The Flag
You claim offends me
Really
You do not know
That Flag
Is MINE
Saluted
Earned
Defended
Sacrificed for
Cried over
Sacred.
