I pledge allegiance to a country that's done nothing for me.
I pledge allegiance to this ticking corporate time bomb, counting down the number of people left outside of its marketing cage.

Tick tock
Tick tock
Tick tock

Clock counting down the number of days left until a new order passes, tying us tighter to the system we all say we want to avoid, the system hiding in the shadows of everything we do.

I pledge allegiance to "by the people for the people" turned "by the people for the money" because that's the fuel of the freedom we value so highly as to put a price on it, as if that's a measure of its worth.

I pledge allegiance to impossible standards laid out in HD clarity on screens too far from reality to reach, sending the message that worth is now measured by a number on a scale instead of what's in your heart.

I will no longer pledge allegiance this false sense of truth hiding behind a mask of lies,

Instead I'll pledge allegiance to the memory of one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

The night brings forth something beautiful.
Bamboo trees sway with the wind,
The lightbulbs have been dimmed,
But the moon comes to life
Saying
"It's my time to shine"
And while others
Are locked up in their blankets,
I have rocked up in their gentle
And their not so gentle,
Snores.
The television
Is no longer humming with static
But instead the sound of crickets
Fills my ears with a buzz far better.
The curtains
Have long been pulled down
As if to keep out any more of the
Darkness.
My bed
Inspires clouds of thought.
Suddenly,
Fish can fly
And birds can swim
And I am with you
And you are with me
And unlike in the mornings,
we are happy.

The moment my eye lids flap open,
When the curtains have been pulled up,
When the moon has gone back into hiding,
When the snores are replaced with laughter,
And the crickets no longer buzz,
I cannot wait to say good night again.