so, it’s Memorial Day
sales
again
and I remember
when Cub Scout packs
would take up the back
of the parade
and families would struggle
to find shade
along Main Street
in late May
with temperatures rising
we shuffled our feet
to the beat
of drums
back when
Vietnam Vets
were still
considered bums
by the Veterans
of the second great war
and, oh say
I can see more
Cub Scouts
getting ready to be
all that they can
be
and I can clearly
see
children being recruited
young minds being polluted
memorize these lines
pledge your allegiance
and fall in line
and left
right
left
and it’s time
to fight
now set your sights
on brown skin
and although it’s killing
its not a sin
and I command you
ten more push-ups
and hurry the hell up
and wait
and this is your fate
a decade down
the line
salt
and lime
drink these memories
far
far away
far away
far away
its Memorial Day
and if you fail
to come home a hero
in a flag draped casket
there will be mattress sales
and a shopping basket
at the grocery store
you can fill with
more
more
more
beer
and wine
and liquor
to wash away
the war
to wash away
the pain
to wash away
the years
shift through
the gears
back to first grade
back when you first made
up your mind
that we were
the good guys
you could see it
in the weary eyes
of the soldiers
getting off the plane
at Westover
after Amy
and Sarah
invited you to join them
and their parents
in their minivan
for a drive to Chicopee
to see
the returning men
and women
standing tall
and looking good…
and I understood
what I had to do
as I stood there
in my Cub Scout hat
and K-Mart shoes
and waved
a miniature American flag
looking back now,
I take a drag
and remember
a decade later
when we were given
miniature American flag
stickers to stick
on the front
of our football helmets
during the first week
of our senior year
and we did so proudly
but full of fear
in the days following
9/11/2001
and fifteen years later
we still haven’t won
whatever we were
supposed to win
and if I were still
Catholic
I would call it a
sin
what we did
in the years
that followed
following all that
nightly news
fear
we swallowed
like bitter pills
from the VA
and now
once again
it’s Memorial Day
but it’s not a day
to remember…
its become a day
to celebrate
capitalism
and ignore the embers
still smoldering
from the people
and cultures
we’re burning
to the ground
lost
never to be
found
and, while a few
of us
are yearning
for an end
to this
endless madness
while struggling through
this endless sadness
too many
keep turning
blind eyes
every day
as the hawk flies
and Lady Liberty
cries
not knowing
what to say
So, after you drive
your brand new car
home from the mattress store
try to remember
we’re still at war…
and as you wash down
your burgers
with too many beers
dont be afraid
to shed a few tears
for the nearly two dozen veterans
who will kill themselves today
as they do daily
and if I become a number
like them
dont blame me
it was my Uncle Sam
who failed me
as he failed
every last one
of his nieces
and nephews
abusing his power
abusing us all
please teach your children
the truth
so they refuse to fall
in line
and make the same mistake
that so many of us did
when we were just
good-hearted,
well-intentioned,
God-fearing,
patriotic,
naive,
brainwashed
American kids
soitgoes1984 