Note: The lines below were written a couple of weeks ago, but never posted. I thought too much time had passed since the relevant events. I needn’t have worried. New opportunities arose.
To Whom It May Concern:
It seems every time I turn around now
Flags are flying at half staff
Commemorating the victims of one mass shooting
Or another
Only a willful lack of conviction
Allows us to tolerate such violence
A lack of conviction driven by an equally willful
Misinterpretation of our constitutional rights
In the face of catastrophe after catastrophe
We are not helpless
. . . .
And yet
. . . .
Our inaction in preventing these deaths
Is an insult to the principles
Articulated so eloquently
In the Declaration of Independence
And encoded so thoughtfully
In our Constitution
. . . .
Yes, freedom has a price–
This is not it
The founding fathers–
Would be appalled
. . . .
Today’s lowered flags represent
The shame of the betrayal
Of the worthy ideals
The Original Patriots fought for
It doesn’t take Supreme Court
Iinterpretations of ‘intent’
To figure out what to do about all this
It only takes, as Thomas Paine might say,
Common sense
. . . .
I have a proposal:
Let all flags fly at half staff
Until we develop the courage
To push back against
This pointless tide of death
