The value of power
Is in the hand of the employed men
Then, why do we consider the power currently
In the hands of authorities, an unrighteous force?
Christianity, considers power an unrighteous sin
A powerful force that can carry out the most immoral actions
Hence, the more you understand the ideas of God, the more you will realize
That our established societies break the boundaries
Of what is correct and incorrect, just to sway from this unequal force
Will deny that most of our ideals are equivocal or questionable
But, what about our wants
Let us ask ourselves, is it wrong to want liberty?
Maybe, according to Aristotle who said the city-state need not
Necessarily promote liberty

It is cool, dry and very early
on this crisp September morn.
The General’s orders were quite succinct:
This man must die at dawn.

We’ve erected here a gallows
On the street for all to see:
This man will die a traitor’s death
For what he calls” Liberty”

With the Parson in attendance
He is brought here, grave and pale,
This spy posed as a teacher
His name is Nathan Hale.

I placed the noose around his neck
The knot was tightly wound
The condemned was then allowed to speak
before the drums would sound.

“The cause for which i am dying for i did not take up in an idle moment
i was born it as are all my countrymen
if the belief in man’s right to freedom is held on any other place on earth
i have not heard of it
i am proud to have lived in a country where freedom is a reality
living it has been my privlege to fight for it
in death i shall hold it forever
if i were to be born a thousand times i would choose no other life
but service to American freedom
i have only one sorrow
i only regret that i have but one life to loose for my country”

At that, I heard the drumroll sound.
My captain gave a nod.
I pushed the brave young traitor
to his meeting with his God.

We left him hanging several days,
As a lesson to the town
Of the fate awaiting traitors
Who take arms against the crown.

At dusk last night we cut him down
When no one was around
And laid him in an unmarked grave
which never will  be found.

They set us so carelessly upon the trees;
despite our wails, screams, and pleas, we
become dying fruit for the fleas.
Institutionalized and criminalized, we live a life of fear.
They sneer, jeer at the sight of us at life’s rear.
Our plight against contempt makes for a militant man
as we just try to be as real as we can.
To them, our efforts are never enough,
for them, our pain is never enough.
We strive for equality, liberty, happiness, and life.
In turn, we receive hatred, anger, and strife.
Murdered and ***** and torn next to our loved ones.
In response, we give a passion greater than the Sun’s.
All of our lives, we have had to fight.
Striking back against their wrath, destroying their blight.

They set us so wrongly upon their boat;
after we are spent, we are set to float.
I wonder about real life,
“What does it feel like?”
Torment should not be equal to pigment,
and there is nothing to warrant such abhorrent torrents.
We are not equal and never have been the same.
When we speak out, we are silenced; liberty too tamed.
They set us so harshly upon the pyre;
the extermination of desire,
the death of liberty as a killing fire.

From going out
I have to refrain
Terrified by the passing by
Corona thunder and
Pandemic rain,
Oddly defying science,
A chimera,
Looming large
Again and again.

I have begun
To pine
For old me
Freely out to
The neighborhood
And street
Somebody to meet
Somebody to greet.

After  Covid-19's
Shock treatment,
My reservation
I admit
In being picky
When choosing people
I used to meet.

"Love your friend
As yourself
As God said
It has dawned on me
In humanity's treasure trove
Should  come peoples' love
Of course all things atop
Must be placed
In-God-vested hope.(Mark 12: 30-31)


My behavior spiraling
Out of control
A feeble and complacent
Human being
I stretched my imagination
As if God
Has secondary or no role.
As such,
Earthly pursuit
Was my goal.
Now, as King David said, (plasm 122:1)
I reflect
Going to church,
Uplifting soul, allows
With God keeping
In touch.
It has also sank in
Brushing shoulders
With collogues
Was enthusing
Aloof, on my chair
Before I perch,
At times to do
Reading research.

I realized the money
I used to stash away
To make hay,
While others were starving
And when I could become
People hungry
Had no meaning.

I want to see
The broadmass
No more afraid
Out, on their table
To put bread!

I pined my liberty of
To and fro
Breathing oxygen free
Before the
Corona lockdown decree.

I want to project
My true face
Forced not on
My lovely face
A mask to place.

With a square shoulder
I want to walk
No more ringing
In my ear
The pandemic talk.
I want to rove the land
And fly on the sky
To feast my eyes
On touristic spots
Or goods to buy,
May God allow me
Such things again
Before I die!
I  also pine to see
The day
Undertakers are
No longer in a hurry
Fellow citizens
To bury.

I pray for
God's Mercy
Gramercy!

But now  
Keeping social distance
Washings hands with soap
Putting on face mask
And sanitizing is
What I advance.

Mother of Cowards
by Michael R. Burch aka "The Loyal Opposition"

So unlike the brazen giant of Greek fame
With conquering limbs astride from land to land,
Spread-eagled, showering gold, a strumpet stands:
A much-used trollop with a torch, whose flame
Has long since been extinguished. And her name?
"Mother of Cowards!" From her enervate hand
Soft ash descends. Her furtive eyes demand
Allegiance to her ****'s repulsive game.

"Keep, ancient lands, your wretched poor!" cries she
With scarlet lips. "Give me your hale, your whole,
Your huddled tycoons, yearning to be pleased!
The wretched refuse of your toilet hole?
Oh, never send one unwashed child to me!
I await Trump's pleasure by the gilded bowl!"

NOTE: My sonnet is a parody of the famous poem "The New Colossus" written about the Statue of Liberty by Emma Lazarus. Keywords/Tags: America, American history, liberty, United States, Emma Lazarus, The New Colossus, Statue of Liberty, Lady Liberty, torch, freedom, beacon, lamp, light, door, golden door, liberty, immigrants, immigration, refuse, homeless, poor, rich, discrimination, huddled masses, yearning, breath free, giant, fame, free, freedom of speech, independence day, New York, patriotic