Home » Poems » Ilene Bauer » The Stars and Stripes

The Stars and Stripes

After 9/11, flags Were proudly on display To show the world we stood together In the U.S.A. Such a rare attack at home United every side, So stars and stripes were flown To show defiance, strength and pride. Yet now that symbol has become An icon of the right And seeing flags on people’s homes Makes me a bit uptight. It’s sad to know the comfort That the flag had once provided Has been altered to portray a land So hopelessly divided.

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Gershon Wolf

Date: 11/7/2022 8:09:00 PM

Flag has been flagging for quite a while, methinks, Ilene. Remember 'flag underwear' from the 1960's already?! Pity, really.

Jim Slaughter

Date: 11/7/2022 1:58:00 PM

I remember that day very well, Ilene, and the last stanza of this well-deserved piece is a hard truth to swallow.

Terry Flood

Date: 11/7/2022 11:04:00 AM

We have a similar situation in the UK, Ilene. Many put up the flag in order to say, ‘Oy you, this is Britain, this is’ but claim its pride in their nation. Seemingly worse is the St George’s Flag which is specifically English and is often used in an even more in-your-face manner. Shame that national pride has become seemingly unacceptable. Terry

Rico Leffanta

Date: 11/6/2022 9:20:00 PM

The Stars & Stripes were never welcomed in Hawai'i - except by Plantation owners and the American military, which still control much of the land and legislature. It never stood for justice on many Native American reservations, yet hundreds of thousands of Americans have died to honour it! Nice write, Ilene! Aloha!

L Milton Hankins

Date: 11/6/2022 12:15:00 PM

Oh, Ilene, I know exactly what you mean. And down here in the south, we still see Confederate flags being prominently flown. I, too, feel a certain apprehension when I see vehicles decked out with flags. I don't like it, but I don't know what to do. I do love the American flag, but I don't always love what it has come to stand for!