Best Spangled Poems
Children with candy floss and wands of bright plastic,
Anticipation of the big top fantastic -
“Affordable family fun!”
The circus has come to town.
A carnival and a frisson of people,
The smell of the diesel,
It's magical and visceral –
Intense.
There's a girl in hoop earrings
Stands ready and steady and poised at the entrance,
Beckons our queue, guides us on through.
Later in sky blue and diamonds,
She’ll balance the line
Of the high tight rope walk.
To the right, a big burly man,
A wandering vendor of neon lit sabres -
“As you've never seen him before!”
Will throw a precision of knives at his wife.
Twenty years she has whirled in her satin and modesty chiffon,
On her own wheel of fortune.
To the left, there's a girl in an ordinary sweatshirt,
Wide spangled hairband, at a stand where pink sugar is spun.
Soon, she'll be spectacular!
Twirling on ribbons and ropes.
Belief suspended on the thrill of her peril,
Her grace.
We’ll be spellbound.
Sounds surround us as we take our seats ringside,
The beautiful boy selling programmes
Will descend,
Perform a daredevil act.
Our necks strained as we look
To the infinite blue of a tarpaulin sky -
Trapeze artist high -
He'll fly and he'll never grow older.
Dream big.
And then come the men,
Louder and bolder,
Selling bottomless buckets of popcorn and pop,
Sweet, salted and fizzy,
Between sets, they'll be busy.
A cascade of jugglers and clowns.
The big gestures of jesters and tumbling chaos -
“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls!”
And too soon the showtime is over,
We spill back out into the park,
Blinking into the afternoon,
Rare and recount the fleeting visions of awe and wonder.
Tomorrow the circus will have packed up and gone.
Leaving behind just a fairy circle of flattened grass
And the ghosts of muddy tyre tracks.
Francis Scott Key:
“O say, does that Star - Spangled Banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?”
The Answer:
Yes, Mr. Key, the Star - Spangled Banner still waves
Over that magical land expansive oceans away.
True, its residents are as free as after McHenry
And have remained foes of the tyranny’s sway.
The banner is no longer half-concealed and half-exposed
But hoisted on the tallest mountains and upon the moon,
And from the eastern portion of the virgin world
The Star - Spangled Banner can be seen by the sage and the loon.
Ask the enemy of the peace and the lover of concord
And they’ll admit the starry banner still dances in the wind,
The Star-Spangled Flag is still the undisputed king
Among the white-complexioned and the dark-skinned.
The mongers of fear and terror will at least admit
That the stripes and the stars still tower higher
Above disease and the despot’s egocentric desire,
And still stirs the abhorrence of the mischievous liar.
The Star-Spangled Banner, Mr. Francis Key,
Remains true to the welcome of the New Colossus.
The huddled masses continue to breathe free
And the torch is still held at the golden door.
The Star-Spangled Banner yet waves
Above the dark-hued placards of knaves,
The shiny stars light the paths of the unfortunate
And the stripes still choke the voice of hate.
The Star - Spangled Banner still waves
Over the maneuvers of those in bloody caves,
And the masters of wizened religious gripes
Still do feel the heat of the gallant stripes.
Oh, Mr. Key, the stars and the stripes do rule the earth
And inspire those that pursue the satisfactions of genuine mirth,
The stripes yet rekindle hope and the stars light the darkest nooks
That hitherto shadowed the shenanigans of megalomaniacal crooks.
Ask no more, dear Mr. Francis Key,
For that land still belongs to the free,
And the stars and the stripes yet wave
Over that tranquil territory of the brave.
We clad ourselves in colors as we march,
saluting independence through a foggy dream;
gazing at the night alight with flashes,
sparkles,
and firefly screams.
Rockets made in China, cascade/
to the backdrop of the Star Spangled Banner;
a flutter to the wind blown flags made in Brazil
and "I Love America Pins" upon our lapel;
(made in Mexico).
We stand on oceanfront (it’s owned by France)
gazing ‘pon the open sea,
the port is owned by Saudis/
but at least we stand here free.
Our hands steadfast upon our chest,
saluting whichever freedoms still remain,
those freedoms, their going fast;
and they’ll disappear one day.
We gaze into the abyss of night,
the twinkling tears that kiss our cheek,
immersing ourselves in awe of moment,
before it fades our dreams to sleep.
We stand enamored with this land,
the love that lurks within our hearts,
we celebrate this love/
...in part;
fore tomorrow, standing is banned.
~*~
~~**~~
star spangled banner
standing tall for all to see
the flag of freedom
~~**~~
~*~
U.S.A.
Warner Baxter
As the star-spangled glory,
Flies proud and grand,
With the home of the brave,
Though hill scattered lands,
With the star-spangled banner,
Gleaming o’er the shore
As the noble eagle
Stretches and soars
And the flag flies brilliant,
By mountains high,
As the crop fields spread,
Beneath won’drous blue skies.
Written: January 16, 2025, for contest Sponsored by: Joseph May
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Adventure, Beginning
Coastal Dreams Echoing
Fearless Growing Horizons In Jumping Kismet
Laden Magically, Nebulae Oleaginous,
Portending Quicksand Reflecting Spangled Tussle
Unseen Vermilion Waves Xerox Yperite Zone.
Since I was a small child and would try to sing,
when we rise and sing the praises of "Old Glory,"
it brings tears to my eyes. Maybe it's because we
have endured much to keep our flag flying--too
many wars, too many injured, too many dead.
Or, perhaps, in this "Winter of Our Discontent,"*
whether Red or blue or neutral tan, we can, as one,
STAND UNITED.
call me old fashioned
but the star spangled banner
brings tears to my eyes
*Winter of Our Discontent," novel by John Steinbeck,
Shakespeare's "The Tragedy of King Richard III"
February 9, 2023
for "It Means A Lot To Me" contest
by Regina McIntosh
Flag waving decency goodbye
Actually not its fault
Being only of cloth
Creased by ones from Hell
Veterans Administration now failing
Allowing returned wounded Heroes to die
Hung out to dry on death sentence waiting list
While President Commander-In-Chief sits idly by
Immorality breaking America's heart
Dragged through unwanted sewers
Guns blamed for violence
Humans using them.... victims?
Accountability old fashioned word
Many not touching reality
Cowering before mere responsibility
Asking forgiveness without remorse
Timothy McVeigh excellent example
Babies blown to pieces
Considered "just collateral damage" (quote, 03-28-01)
No more no less
Products of civilized societies
Getting sicker and sicker
Advancements in human condition
Professed by corrupt governments
Rhyme or reason discovered
I don't think so
At least not in general
There are still saints
Just hard to find
In muck and mire
Of mortal muddy confusion
Too many answers expressed
Questions left in dust
Have been for centuries
Greed.... most successful preacher
Evil.... its loyal follower
Copyright © 2014 Robert William Gruhn - All Rights Reserved
"A poem to me is the essence of any thought,
Being built from its foundation into tower scraping sky.
It can fly like no other bird to places never seen,
Even spaceships can only dream of taking its place."
© 2014 Robert William Gruhn
There once was a lad named Cy Milgram
A regular cool and hip pilgrim --
He saw Plymouth 'Rock'
Said, "Fast forward the clock!" --
Played Jimi Hendrix ~ nearly killed 'em
Here I am darling
at the center
of my everything,
gazing over a lake
looking upon
silver stars lovingly
dancing inside ripples.
Sparkling in
a moving mass
kisses gently ,
touching deep waters,
blinking diamond thoughts
upon a moon face,
reflections flooding
through the mind
every last one shines
sweetly on
you my love.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Oh say, did you notice
a national predative anthem?
Moving immediately
urgently,
without reflection of starlight
sent or received,
From waving flags predicting elite weapons
fueled by complexly masculine
emasculating
militarized corporate industries
of mutual defensive risks
against international cooperative opportunities
to coinvest
In smoke-filled dawns of manifest destiny
toward freedom for all
self-righteous straight white males
especially with a divine right
as Earth's owners of enslaved
exploited property,
and home to the brave mercenaries
of death
and dying
and divestment technologies.
This anthem
is based on a patriarchal
powerful
psychological
and spiritual
and natural
and ecological
theological error.
Nowhere in our personal experience
nor our economic or political history
have we fought for freedom.
We do fight against oppression
but we flee,
apart or together, toward freedom.
Emigration is about exodus
toward hope and freedom.
Declaring wars,
expressing
and investing
our collective fears and angers,
These are about lands taken from reserved,
and feminized
and marginalized
and enslaved laborers,
forced immigrants into non-elite oppressions
of nationalism
patriarchalism
elite v non-elite dualism,
divides,
absence of win/win communication,
xenophobia
monoculturing suppressions
repressions
Where polypathic left with right win/win prominence
longs for polycultural confluence
rather than cognitive/affective dissonance,
flag waving
predicting nationalistic predative anthems
sung empty-heartedly and robotically
with elitist left-brain opulence.
If we sing it loud enough
long enough
we must be patriotically true,
But, to whom?
Way back in my childhood days
used to love real favourite sweet
they were hard boiled fruit flavours
real refreshing they were to eat
Mars Limited in UK made them
having many flavours totally nine
strawberry, orange lemon naming a few
but my favourite was simply lime
They had a real good tasty bite
but sucking them made them last
so the flavour lasted real long
the kids loved them sold real fast
Sadly don't make them no more
todays sweets just not the same
quality don't have that taste
like yesterdays as they claim!
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord wrapped in the laughter
and the sounds of a five year old.
Truth is marching as I witness commencement exercises across the university
law campus.
Bombs bursting in air has a truer sound and a detailed message as I reread the
letters from my son who serves his country overseas.
This is where the real pledge of allegiance is silently read.
I am dancing on the edge of time,
Barefoot I tread a razor of light.
There is no time to vanquish my soul,
No place can be walked like this.
An obsession has taken root,
In this mind it grows from strength.
The burn is a sting from a scorpion,
Its fire the very source of life itself.
The light will fail, darkness to prevail,
In the most moving of song.
The red demon claws at my back,
Wounds run like earths' molten river.
Life cannot move from this stagnation,
An instant glory, to split like a stone.
Pain is our only sobering grace,
In this star spangled journey of time.
While you were all sleeping..
I crept in through your back door.
You were off in la la land..
While I silently started a war!
Your "Star Spangled Banner."
Says "Land of the Free".
Wheres "United" America?
You could of fooled me!
It then goes on to say..
America home of the brave!
But all I've seen is fear..
In the way you all behave!
My army is growing stronger..
I thrive on your demise.
I'm invisible, and I'm a killer..
Why do you act surprised?
With your finger on the trigger..
You're unstable holding your gun.
Outsmarted by a virus..
And you've nowhere to run.
Your empire has fallen..
It's crumbled beyond repair.
No longer America United..
Instead "Land of Despair"!
So sweet dreams America!
Go on back to sleep!
And while you're blindly in denial..
Your souls I'll take to keep!