Let "Freedom" Ring

We parade the world stage with our grand old flag

a symbol of  freedom and pride

but what of the elephant in the room

and the jackass that stands by its side?

To signify freedom we fly it for all,

yet some feel betrayed by the sight—

and while we don’t feel what these others may feel,

leaving us question what’s true and what’s real,

 doesn’t diminish their strife

If this were an illness, some kind of disease

with labs on the verge of a cure,

if we could eradicate, help symptoms ease

  would we turn a blind eye, a deaf ear?

Those in denial will never seek truth

while others live hatred each day;

some only believe what they choose to hear

they don’t see a problem,  say what they say

facts do not matter, just get in the way—

     Is it their pride? Or just fear?

My ancestors settled long after the war*

they came here to make a new life­–

they too were insulted, derided, berated,

judged by their customs, so many were hated

    while having their freedoms denied.

Yet through their insistence, faith and persistence

while acceptance still came at a price, 

it isn’t quite fair to even compare

the difference between black and white.

 

We’ll never shed shackles where silence condones,

where everyone’s guilty, but no one atones,

and those passing judgment have cast the first stone.

Until we hear song that the caged bird sings,

   it’s then, only then, that our freedom will ring.

 

© Ginny Brannan 7/04/2021

 

*Reference to Civil War. 

**A work in progress, doesn't quite feel 'complete.'