Stars and Stripes reign today,
on freedom’s parade as it marches past;
veterans quick to take cover,
say this Storm's worse than the last.
First comes Hollywood’s float,
manicured fingers, sharpened and curled;
sport the peace sign, ready to claw,
to get to the top of a make believe world.
Next, three piece suits do a song & dance,
hidden in each pocket, a corporate scheme;
pull the ladder out from under those,
just trying to live out their American dream.
Then the ever popular recycled float,
for the beached whale’s plight we must mourn;
defenders of the deep, guard our shores,
from extinction of young, those yet to be born.
Secretly, a band in starch white uniforms,
can be heard beating away under cover of night;
march before us with blackened hearts,
hating anyone’s skin just a shade past white.
Next comes an American living room,
a float to portray families in desperate pain;
children involved in sex and drugs,
divorces in numbers increasingly insane.
Last but not least, the heroes from wars,
proceed down Main Street's crowded block;
cowards hurl cliches “Make love not war”,
those giving their lives, they ridicule and mock.
A uniformed boy waves tattered alligience,
marching into the horizon as the music fades;
steps out of the way as a hearst drives by,
clutches his flag at the end of freedom’s parade.
Author notes
"Please don't misunderstand me - I not putting down animal rights people - I am one of the biggest animal lovers you will ever meet and I not condeming Hollywood as I love to go to movies. Also I know many people get divorce for very serious reasons on the whole, and most corporations are honest but I'm just making a point that wars and battles (some necessary and some not )of all kinds, rage on our shores and off and the very freedoms we have in the USA are possible because of what men and women have sacrified for us."
A contest entry
- Politically Incorrect Part 1 by WisdomWarrior.
1300 points, ended January 26, 2007, 22 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
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Thank you for entering. You can fix as many errors as you like and make as many changes as you like until close of round on the 26th.
I have read your piece but I won't judge it until after the 26th.
Thanks for entering. Thanks for making a difference.
John
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I LOVE your dogs!!!!!!!! I have an Appenzeller Mountain dog (or known as Swiss Mountain dog) is that what yours are??
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Wow. You really had a mouthful to say in this poem!
I think that it's all good that we express our views on things. And I think that America does seem to forget a lot of things that are important. So I think that I got what you meant in saying this even without the metaphors. You did a good job expressing yourself.
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A parade is definitely a pretty awesome way to visualize the social mechanism in America. It can be witnessed at any given time. I saw the same parade today as I drove down the expressway, with billboards blowing past me, a bar in my point of origin and an American living room in my destination.
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