Their flag flew high.
9 people murdered in church, and
Their flag flew high.
Preachers and politicians, mommas and daddies, grannies and granddaddies-
All taken from the Earth in an instant in the summer of 2015, and
Their flag flew high.
Their flag flew high, and
As people stared back at the cold blue eyes
Whose piercing gaze unleashed a reign of terror on the innocent.
Their flag flew high, and
His cold blue eyes don’t weep.
Their flag flew high, and
We immediately saw flashbacks of Bloody Birmingham, and
All through the south.
But there, 4 little girls,
Each one somebody’s daughter,
The fate of these tiny brown bodies left to hate, sanctioned by the govnor, da mayor, da sheriff, and certainly his handy dandy deputy henchmen.
4 tiny brown bodies knocked off by somebodies’ hate, and
Still, their flag flew high.
Their flag flew high upon the capital, when
The stars and stripes were lowered because we were in mourning.
Their flag flew high, and fueled the fire that furthered the pain.
Their flag flew high, and raised terror over the state.
Their flag flew high over the state house grounds.
Their flag flew high, even as bodies lay dead, others long buried, and
Still, their flag flew high.
Their flag flew high when mammas cried for their babies, and
Their flag flew high when entire communities were ravished by their hate.
Their flag flew high, because Robert E. Lee fought under it.
Their flag flew high because their generals and soldiers, their daddies, uncles, cousins and brothers all lost their lives to defend it.
Their flag flew high because they refuse to disbelieve the myth.
Their flag flew high because they refuse to let go of the past.
Their flag flew high, and it cut like a knife, sliced like a sword!
Their flag flew high, and
It hurts, this pity we carry on their behalf, and
Shame at our inability to reconcile these two flags.
***
