a black flag is suspended above the garden in my front lawn it flexes in dawn's sweet breeze and ***** in the mid-morning sun then snaps in afternoon gusts before weathering the storms of early dusk and ultimately subsiding into the relative serenity of an uncertain twilight
a black flag prepared to face the elements once more at a moment's notice
even now i hear it slapping and cracking as if it were possessed by the manifestation of the people's will an outcry indignant at the indignities humankind and this good earth have suffered at the hands of faceless men and women who succumb to the illusion of dominance
i take that black flag down whenever i go out my front door i fold it up into a tiny handkerchief tuck it neatly in my breast-pocket where it rests mere millimeters from my heart as i do what i can to teach my students to live with such vibrant tenacity that their very existence is an act of rebellion
i wear the black flag around my neck every time i go to shows it soars behind me and i feel superhuman as i stand and sing in tandem with a myriad of friends in the throes of some melodious cadence harmonizing with down-tuned guitars and pile-driving percussion the rest of the galaxy and i lose track of space and time adrift in the rhythms of resistance
i tie the black flag around my head to keep back the sweat beading about my brow every time i bend down and break my back once more for my corporate overlords who can no longer see the forest for the trees let alone be somehow appeased by the simple joy of sharing books with random strangers their eyes are glazed green with envy and i wonder when they sold their souls to the devils on capitol hill
i wave the black flag at protests as we occupy the streets and feed the homeless and cheer wildly for complete liberty in time with the beat of drums our footsteps aiding in a procession that shakes the houses of decadence capitalists lurk within and causes the corrupt to tremble with trepidation as they turn to one rich white neighbor after the other and ask one another what have we done
like no flag before it and no banner since the black flag waves all humanity away from the precipice upon which we lean so perilously teetering over the edge flirting with death inches away from a bottomless abyss
its blackness stands in stark contrast from the blue hues that evoke oceanic divides or the red streaks symbolizing bloodshed or the white blotches that elicit some tacit implication of supremacy and exceptionalism
it is black whole and uniform indicative not of segregation and national barriers but of unity universal fraternity that comes not from conformity but out of a genuine desire to recognize the inherent dignity of all humanity—even those with whom we might vehemently disagree
there is not a shred of cowardice in the black flag it means no surrender it recognizes no authority it is not subservient to a titular country but predicated on the principle that freedom equality and responsibility are not trigger words for selling successful political campaigns but are the natural and inherent virtues that make us sentient human beings
the black flag defies the oligarchic minority and returns once more to the wellspring of individuality and community and in doing so produces a space where originality is the centripetal force
power to the people now invert the stars and stripes before turning them to fuel for the fires in our chests like Prometheus we wrest divinity from the gods masquerading above us in the halls of congress and the senate white houses are not temples of worship we have it in us to create a community where we don't need representation where we determine our own future
revolution is a lived concept
a black flag is suspended above the garden in my front lawn it flexes in dawn's sweet breeze and ***** in the mid-morning sun then snaps in afternoon gusts before weathering the storms of early dusk and ultimately subsiding into the relative serenity of an uncertain twilight