I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE
I pledge allegiance
to the flag
of the United States of America,
and to the
Gun.
for which it so staunchly stands,
one fate, inescapable,
with tragedy and unfledged funerals
for all.
No.
Stop.
Show some respect for your country.
My apologies, does that upset you?
It’s alright.
You don’t understand.
You don’t understand my anger.
Let me show you the source of my
disrespect.
Let me show you what it is like to be
a child of “post-common sense America”.
You are alive
but there is no law to thank.
You are playing a bleak game of luck and chance
you never signed up to play,
trading lessons for shooter drills,
books for bullets,
diplomas for obituaries,
graduation caps for headstones,
futures for an early grave.
You are a child of “post-common sense America”.
You watch
innocent, far too young souls be slaughtered,
crushed budding daisies underneath
a child’s reckless foot.
Slaughtered by those wielding a weapon
with abilities too great
for the human race.
You are a child of “post-common sense America”.
You hysterically search,
pawn through the haystack for that needle,
that one person who will fight for change,
for you.
But your fingertips are growing raw,
droplets of blood seep through torn skin,
turn golden straw sticky and pink,
and no needle.
No luck.
Instead, you find politicians who barter out your life for bribes,
fight for cold, black hunks of metal instead of your future,
tell you that “gun reform is not the answer”,
and how would you know what is best for America,
you’re just
a child.
But look around
and all you see is innocent students being mercilessly killed
by maniacs with an AR15 who shoot at anything that moves,
a sick game of whack-a-mole.
You want to scream, scream in a pure rage because
nobody cares, and children are dying because of it.
But your scream is stifled,
you too are buried alive,
your awaiting grave licking its rapacious lips.
You are a child of “post-common sense America”.
Was that enough?
Do you now understand my anger?
Have I helped you now comprehend
that a few words
of your beloved pledge
weigh less
than the children of America?
Written by Anonymous
Best Submission for August 2020- Left, Right and Center