I Pledge Allegiance

[A poem for a precarious, incongruous, slippery holiday….]

I pledge allegiance

To the better angels of my nature, 
divided within me, around me, above me.
To the deep disruption of their binaries,
in star-spangled, kaleidoscopic jubilee.

And to a republic unbound
which does not stand; it overflows.
Dismembered states shimmer on cave walls
known only in fragments and backlit shadows.

One of many nations, 
under dark stars and blistering sunsets
in search and service of becoming
craving truth and beauty, wisdom and justice.

I pledge allegiance

To revolutions not televised
To the nine-pound hammers of ill-fated coups
To the offspring of barbarous ancestors
To bread, and roses too.

To the mischief that mollifies factions
To the buried hearts at Wounded Knee
To the tired, poor, and huddling masses
To the mystic chords of memory.

To sacred corn and purple mountains
Majesty not yet debased
To stalwart salmon running 
Legacies not yet erased. 

To the pursuit of something more than happiness
In these times that might be changing
To wrath and grapes and hard won solace
In these times that won’t stop raging. 

I pledge allegiance

To the fire next time 
To the seventh generation
To the dreams we still have
To the ramparts of creation.

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