American Flag
i've had mixed feelings
about the American flag
ever since they lowered it
for President Kennedy...
it took a beating during
the civil rights movement.
and then there was Vietnam,
all the atrocities, the lies,
the wasted deaths...
the marches, the protests,
the Kent State killings...
and the flag was burned
in anger, and i understood
the anger
and now the corporate takeover,
the loss of human rights,
the loss of dignity, and hope
how many deaths does it take?
JFK, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King
forty thousand plus in Vietnam
how many in the lying oil wars
in Iraq and Afghanistan?
how many homeless and jobless
does it take?
how many migrant workers treated
like animals?
how many old people have to lose
the benefits they've worked for?
and i think back to my old hero,
Thomas Jefferson what would he say?
maybe something like this:
'the real American flag isnt made of cloth,
it's drawn on the backs of the American workers.
male and female of all races and religions,
the people that built this country
the heart blood of this country.
when you put these people down
with your greed, your lies, your apathy
then you lower the flag.
and it can never be raised again
till all Americans walk heads up together
with hope till all have an equal opportunity
to live and be in freedom
until such day you have no flag! '
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Related quotes
I Am American
'I am American', I shout
When the flag marches on by,
I am American, and I am proud
As her glory comes to my eyes.
For the flag that which I live for
Is by the same that I will die
For I am proud and free; I am American,
And forever, I pray she flies.
On the streets of America
Upon the streets of the World
I walk in such pride and vigor
Whenever the flag is unfurled.
I am an American that is me
I'll proclaim that through out my life
I will live the way by which she flies
Unto the day, that I die.
And when I have no more breath to breathe
Or when the Worlds fighting is through
I will have lived and died an American
And my flag, she would have proudly flew.
Randy L. McClave
poem by Randy McClave
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American Flag
I am an American, I shout
When the flag marches on by,
I am American, and I am proud
As Her glory comes to my eyes.
The flag that which I live for
Is by which the same I would die
I am proud and free, I’m an American.
And forever I pray she flies.
And on the streets of America
Upon the streets of our World
I always walk in such pride and vigor,
Whenever our flag is unfurled.
I am an American, that is me
I’ll proclaim that throughout my life,
And I’ll live the way by which she flies
Until the day, that which I die.
Inside the books of history,
And upon the winds of time,
There lives the American story,
And the flag, that could never die.
And when I have no more breath to breathe
When the Worlds fighting all is through
I will have lived and died an American
And my flag, She would have proudly flew.
I am an American and that is how I live
And that is the way I write and what I believe
Though Many will not agree with what I do or say
But liberty has gave me the right to be me.
I have gave my thoughts and soul for this land
Though proudly I known freedom through sight,
And I would shed my blood, if needed be,
And if needed, I would gladly give my life.
When I have no more breath to breathe
And when the worlds fighting is through
I will have lived and died an American
And my flag, She would have proudly flew.
Randy L. McClave
poem by Randy McClave
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The Lowering
The flag is folded
lengthwise, and lengthwise again,
folding toward the open edge,
so that the union of stars on the blue
field remains outward in full view;
a triangular folding is then begun
at the striped end,
by bringing the corner of the folded edge
to the open edge;
the outer point, turned inward along the open edge,
forms the next triangular fold:
the folding continued so, until the end is reached,
the final corner tucked between
the folds of the blue union,
the form of the folded flag is found to resemble that
of a 3-cornered pouch, or thick cocked hat.
Take this flag, John Glenn, instead of a friend;
instead of a brother, Edward Kennedy, take this flag;
instead of a father, Joe Kennedy, take this flag;
this flag instead of a husband, Ethel Kennedy, take this flag;
this 9-times-folded red-white-striped, star-spotted-blue flag,
tucked and pocketed neatly,
Nation, instead of a leader, take this folded flag.
Robert Kennedy, coffin without coverlet,
beside this hole in the grass,
beside your brother, John Kennedy,
in the grass,
take, instead of a country,
this folded flag;
Robert Kennedy, take this
hole in the grass.
poem by May Swenson
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Freedom's Battle-Song
RED, white, blue, the flag that leads us on,
Stripes as red as blood well shed by many a hero gone.
Now 'tis ours to storm the towers of tyranny and wrong,
Freedom's sons who front the guns with Freedom's battle-song.
Fly the flag from dome and steeple,
Fly the flag from home and school,
Flag of Freedom's birth,
While we battle that the rule
Of the people
By the people
For the people
Shall prevail o'er all the earth.
Red, white, blue, the flag that leads us on,
White as peace for whose release our fighting gear we don;
Peace enchained, crushed, profaned, shall yet in beauty stand,
Yet shall bless with fruitfulness her desolated land.
Fly the flag from dome and steeple,
Fly the flag from home and school,
Flag of Freedom's birth
While we battle that the rule
Of the people
By the people
For the people
Shall prevail o'er all the earth.
Red, white, blue, the flag that leads us on,
Blue as skies whose starry eyes shall see our victory won.
Freedom's sons and champions, to her our hearts are true,
We who fight for Human Right, and the Red,
White, Blue.
Fly the flag from dome and steeple,
Fly, the flag from home and school,
Flag of Freedom's birth,
While we battle that the rule
Of the people
By the people
For the people
Shall prevail o'er all the earth.
poem by Katharine Lee Bates
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On The Flag Of The Southern Cross
On the flagpost in the freshening winds the flag of the Southern Cross
That brave workers once fought under does flap and wave and toss
In Ballarat in Australia where history was made
For their rights brave men died fighting at the Eureka Stockade
The Southern Cross above where they fought in the southern winds did blow
There history was created one hundred and fifty four years ago
The happening at Ballarat became known of Worldwide
Some of the miners who fought the Government troops were badly injured and some even died
For workers rights in Ballarat the price in human blood was paid
For the rights of a fair go it did not seem a fair trade
Each time I see the flag of the Southern Cross Ballarat comes to mind
The miners there who fought for workers rights were of the bravest kind
That great flag has a history for historians to recall
It surely stands for workers rights and a fair go for all.
poem by Francis Duggan
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My Flag My Country
Wind blows, my flag dances, in the wind
The anthem is sang, souls in unison bond
My flag is tough in the wind, none would
Blow my flag a way, my country I'm proud
Defender is me, the glory of spilled blood
During emancipation from slavery,
The ills washed, and made white as cotton
The struggles, the quest for victory
My flag flies, in wholeness,
The sweet, reminiscences of my country's history.
poem by Charles Jagongo Ogola
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Two Flags
Some people are born under two flags.
Their parents are of two countries
and this is the situation of me.
I live under one flag,
but wish I lived under the other.
For a while, I lived under the other flag
and felt the world belong to me.
Now I live under the one flag
and everything seems to be taken from me.
Those who inspire my life
live under the other flag.
While the ones whose flag I live under
fail to recognise the potential within me.
It is a dilemma I face everyday,
whether to go or to stay.
However I am not the only one,
there must be many more just like me
who live under two flags
and wish they lived under the one farthest away.
2 May 2009
poem by David Harris
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It is the soldier who salutes the flag, serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag who gives that protester the freedom to abuse and burn that flag.
quote by Zell Miller
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The List!
i came to age
in the land of Nixon,
and J Edgar Hoover....
when if you even breathed
the truth you made the lists,
the lists that no one saw!
from the America of LBJ,
the slaughter of the Kennedys',
and Martin Luther King....
and open war on the students
at Kent State who dared to stand....
against an unholy war....
civil rights, flag burnings,
draft card burnings....
women's rights, and change....
that we didnt finish....
now our own children stand
up in protest against a way
of life that isnt living....
and again the police
and the riot squads....
will there be lists this time?
unholy.....unholy........unholy
wars.. .....lifestyles.....'justice'!
put me on the list!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Martin Luther King, Jr. didn't carry just a piece of cloth to symbolize his belief in racial equality; he carried the American flag.
quote by Adrian Cronauer
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Harry Wilmans
I was just turned twenty-one,
And Henry Phipps, the Sunday-school superintendent,
Made a speech in Bindle’s Opera House.
“The honor of the flag must be upheld,” he said,
“Whether it be assailed by a barbarous tribe of Tagalogs
Or the greatest power in Europe.”
And we cheered and cheered the speech and the flag he waved
As he spoke.
And I went to the war in spite of my father,
And followed the flag till I saw it raised
By our camp in a rice field near Manila,
And all of us cheered and cheered it.
But there were flies and poisonous things;
And there was the deadly water,
And the cruel heat,
And the sickening, putrid food;
And the smell of the trench just back of the tents
Where the soldiers went to empty themselves;
And there were the whores who followed us, full of syphilis;
And beastly acts between ourselves or alone,
With bullying, hatred, degradation among us,
And days of loathing and nights of fear
To the hour of the charge through the steaming swamp,
Following the flag,
Till I fell with a scream, shot through the guts.
Now there’s a flag over me in Spoon River!
A flag! A flag!
poem by Edgar Lee Masters from Spoon River Anthology
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Proud Old Glory
I am the blood, I am the soul
I am the essence of liberty, so bold
I am the heart, I am the life
I am the dream and the vision, all that's right
I am the hope, I am the truth
I am the faith and the spirit of the aged and the youth
I am the warmth, I am the breath
I am the peace and the honor, life and death
I am justice, I am love
I stand for freedom, and salute our brave
I serve my country with pride
Old Glory is my name, God made this land my home
I am the proud flag of America
I am the proud flag of America.
poem by Trade Martin
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The Patriotic Bathing Suit
The Patriotic Bathing Suit
Silently the door clicks
All heads turn in anticipation
She's out for the pool
No need for any imagination
That gorgious body was poured into that flag
All men' s eyes were trained on that suit
She then saunters to the awaiting deck
Will today be the day she gets it wet?
The men sighed:
' God Bless America '
That American flag never fit so well
It certainly made all the men' s pride swell
And their hearts would skip a beat
Looking at that red and white seat
And the men thanked
'' God for America '
She was a beauty in an American flag
What more could a man wish to see
On this warm summer day?
There was no finer place to be
And the men whispered:
' Thank God for America '
Then she dove into the water
Grown men started to cry
When she stepped out of the water,
There was, collectively, a very loud sigh
And the men sang:
' GOD BLESS AMERICA '
poem by James Casey
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This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened. Today we are committed to a worldwide struggle to promote and protect the rights of all who wish to be free. … We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old as the scriptures and is as clear as the American Constitution. The heart of the question is whether all Americans are to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities, whether we are going to treat our fellow Americans as we want to be treated.
quote by John F. Kennedy
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Laws protecting the United States flag do not cut away at the freedom of speech guaranteed in the First Amendment... Congress made this position clear upon passage of the Flag Protection Act of 1989, which prohibited desecration of the flag.
quote by Larry Craig
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Human Chronicles (Part Two)
and here in the United States...
the flag of freedom desecrated.
betrayed by our own greed,
by the sins of 'I, Me, Mine'...
carrying the weight of the wars,
the patriotic lies,
the lives taken,
the peoples abused.
the karmic curse
of Native American blood,
the bodies of the slaves,
buried beneath the hanging tree.
the muffled cries of the immigrants
who did our farm work,
and were herded like cattle.
the ghosts of the common workers
pounding the unemployed streets.
too long, too long,
we've closed our eyes.
too long, too long,
we've turned the other way!
and now we've come to this!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Live Free
Waving your flag a blind patriot
can no longer see cause your eyes are shut
love it or leave it is your sentiment
instead of working for improvement
but I want to live free
and won't settle for this mediocrity
waving your flag, we're number one
society's got you under their thumb
too ignorant too see through their subtle attack
to make us content but we must fight back
you don't love your country
you just love yourself
because you sit complacent
like everyone else
if your fights for freedom
then do what's right
put down that flag, protest and come join the fight
song performed by by Youth Of Today
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Ghost Of JFK
the ghost of JFK
walked through my dreams....
and i could see and feel
the heartbeat of America
before the disease took us....
the voice of freedom and moral
conviction.... taking issues,
examining our own souls...
repenting of past prejudices,
searching for a way
for peace and freedom.....
but the shots rang out,
the hope of a generation murdered...
the Pentagon rolled, defense contracts,
smoke filled rooms....
J Edgar Hoover's lists...
the battle for civil rights;
and the young rebelled
against the lie in Vietnam....
against the lie, against the lie...
the search for freedom turned inward....
and the National Guard became the thugs
of the new regime.....
more people killed, more voices stilled....
Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King,
among them.....
that which we fought for now gone....
bought out by the corporate lie.....
and now the battle begins again...
now the voices, new voices,
spring up again....
and i stand amid the ghosts,
waiting on the shots to ring out!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Delicate Cluster
DELICATE cluster! flag of teeming life!
Covering all my lands! all my sea-shores lining!
Flag of death! (how I watch'd you through the smoke of battle
pressing!
How I heard you flap and rustle, cloth defiant!)
Flag cerulean! sunny flag! with the orbs of night dappled!
Ah my silvery beauty! ah my woolly white and crimson!
Ah to sing the song of you, my matron mighty!
My sacred one, my mother.
poem by Walt Whitman
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Dont You Think It's Time?
children have rights,
women have rights.
lovers have rights.
people of all religions,
and even atheists have rights.
people of all colors,
speaking every language have rights.
trees and rivers have rights.
cats and dogs have rights.
cattle have rights,
homeless people have rights.
prisoners have rights.
democrats and republicans have rights,
even socialists have rights.
the jobless have rights,
old people have rights...
and the hungry have
the right to be fed!
damnit! dont you think it's time?
poem by Eric Cockrell
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