At 17 I took the oath.
I would kill and die
for the Stars and Stripes…
I got an education
Became an educator
raised my children
believing still in the Stars and Stripes.
What it represented
What it waved for…
In my lifetime I watched
the fight for equality grow,
expand and crumble before
my eyes.
For gender, race, religion and
love…
I watched a man die by a knee~
I heard about a woman killed
in her bed~
Innocents slaughtered by
weapons of war~
E.R.A. rotting away.
Crimes of hate
and then
Roe v. Wade.
Disbelief
Shock
Grief
I Weep
for never again can I believe
in the promise that was
a lie…
While we WERE sleeping
the belief died..
.