by Tarzana Joe
☙☙☙☙
As if we need to be reminded
As if our hearts were somehow blinded
As if each plane that I see fly
Light and faultless in the sky
Isn’t carrying the souls
Of Beemer and the boys
Who left their seats to save us
They didn’t obey the blinking sign
Pretending everything was fine
Waiting for the sanctions to take hold
As if every visitor to New York doesn’t wonder
And lining up without our shoes
And belts
And pocket change
We know why we’re waiting
As if we need a reason to remember
That bright, blue morning in September
As if the date is not a scar
On each bright stripe and star
They set our flag on fire?
Then we should hoist it higher
But we still think before we speak
Because we should; our mothers said so
And then we speak; because we must
For no one knows better what we have to say
And if I sin for what I say
Then lock me up in Bedlam
For it is the safest place
In a world gone mad.
As if…
☙☙☙☙
Tarzana Joe, the poet laureate of the Hugh Hewitt Radio Show, can be heard on air in the 3rd hour of the broadcast on most Fridays. His wonderful poetry can be found at tarzanajoe.blogspot.com
Reprint with permission by Tarzana Joe, who can be contacted to pen the perfect poem for any occasion at tarzanajoe@hotmail.com …see the linked form.