Flashing flag-pins from lapels,
….. the rivals order God
….. to “bless America.”
….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. They ought
….. to know (but don’t) that language
….. loses in fervor what
….. it gains in bombast.
………. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. It’s like
….. comparing love vowed in a whisper
….. with love proclaimed in High C
….. above High C.
……… ….. ….. ….. ….. Or “I love you”
….. handwritten with “I LOVE YOU”
….. skywritten in space by a pilot
….. in a Piper Cub.
……… ….. ….. ….. ….. . Fervor
….. is not inclined to bow
….. to anyone called Your Eminence,
….. Your Highness or Your Anything,
….. or honor honors never earned,
….. or trust those who say “Trust me,”
….. or take as true all smiles
….. smiled for photographers….
Even as I write these words,
….. I’m not at peace with writing them.
I sound like some aloof
….. headmaster scolding truants.
It makes me little different
….. from those who criticize so they
….. can feel better while those
….. they criticize are doing just
….. the same for opposite reasons.