L Milton Hankins | + Follow Poet |
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Beach Bigots

Sable palms stood like soldiers at parade rest
between dunes and cottage ghost white
against emerald waves rolling
on the white sand beach of Panama City.

Tribal bigots planted Old Glory at water's edge,
staking claim to the public beach for their kind
saying without a word, "If you are not like us
you are not welcome; you do not belong.
This is the new America! This is our land!"

Not the silent majority, but a vocal minority
of white nationalists who clamor incessantly
about patriotism, but who deny freedom to all
who would come to our shores seeking a better life,
a new world of opportunity and hope,
unburdened by radicalization, fanaticism and fear.

Not too long ago, a frail little woman
stood her ground against an entrenched phalanx
of white supremacists who burned crosses,
who claimed they were patriots.
She started Old Glory waving proudly
toward a new era of freedom—

It is yet to come.

Copyright © L Milton Hankins | Year Posted 2021

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Maurice Rigoler Date: 5/10/2021 2:26:00 AM Beaches here are not opened to the public at large yet, though I am no longer a beach person like I used to be when much younger. The beach scene has changed dramatically since those days I can tell you, and not for the better! I wrote a poem about it a few years ago but hesitated to post it on the Soup fearing its graphic honesty would be censured. / Maurice Login to Reply L Milton Hankins Date: 5/10/2021 8:14:00 AM Maurice, I know what you mean. Thanks so much for your encouraging response and comments. I think you should have posted it. I think PS needs to be open to all perspectives and points of view, and I am not a friend of censorship! I've been subjected to my fair share of asterisks, even on PS. I don't like it. If I don't like something, I just don't read it.

Tom Cunningham Date: 5/9/2021 11:54:00 AM Hats off to that dear old lady Milton, shame that bigots are using it that way. Men and women have died under that flag to preserve the freedom you enjoy today. Apart from that incident I hope you had a nice break. Tom Login to Reply L Milton Hankins Date: 5/9/2021 12:02:00 PM Great time with family and friends for a week at the beach. Yes, I agree with you wholeheartedly. They were a stain on an otherwise beautiful beach and week. Thanks for your read, Tom.

Sotto Poet Date: 5/9/2021 10:55:00 AM Dear Milton, I hope you are well for the past few days, and I always wish you the best. This is a superb poem related to a country built primarily by immigrants obsessed with resources while denying opportunity to everyone who could come to our shores to search for a better life. Nobody can guarantee the benefit of being the source. Best Regards, Login to Reply L Milton Hankins Date: 5/9/2021 11:06:00 AM Thanks so much, Lasaad. It was the only bleak spot in my vacation. These people came to the beach everyday and planted a large American flag and several surrounding smaller flags. I love "Old Glory" and hate to see it used in this ugly, polarizing way. Yes, thank goodness, we have always been a nation to welcome immigrants and refugees and we must continue to do so! Thanks for your read, Lasaad.