#pledge
"I pledge allegiance
to the Flag of the United States of Mar-a-lago,
and to my kingdom, for which it stands,
one Nation under God and me,
indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all
except for
immigrants, legal or not,
who have neither
liberty nor justice,
as well as those
who vouch for immigrants,
who have neither,
and my friends,
who have liberty but not justice"
If you are going to recite this,
substitute "my" with
"Trump's" or "His"
—note the uppercase—,
and "me" with
"Trump" or "Him".
Thank you for your attention to this matter,
Signed:
Not Donald J. Trump
7d ago
May 27, 2026 at 2:56 PM UTC
I pledge allegiance to the flicker and glow
Of the silver screen in black and white,
To the scratches dancing through the reels,
To cigarette burns in the corner of the frame,
To the hum of the projector sounding like summer bees
In some downtown theatre that no longer stands.
I pledge myself to the old palaces of dreams,
To velvet curtains and sticky floors,
To ushers with flashlights,
To popcorn that tasted faintly of cardboard,
To Saturday matinees where cowboys galloped forever
Across deserts painted on canvas.
Old cowboys, forts and shootouts,
Black for bad and white for good,
With spinning canvas backgrounds
And cactus cutouts made of wood.
The desert sat behind them
Fifty yards away at most.
The heroes didn’t ride horses —
They sat in folding chairs and boastfully smoked
While makeup girls powdered their noses
And stuntmen broke their backs in the dust.
A painted sunset turned upon a spindle
Through valleys, hills, and streams,
While the hero rode a deck chair horse
And the director yelled and screamed.
Cardboard cactus leaned sideways in the wind,
Paper-mâché boulders rolled downhill,
And avalanches came apart in flakes of painted paper
To thunderous applause from kids in the front row.
And we believed every second of it.
We believed the white hats would win.
We believed the sheriff would come riding.
We believed the train whistle in the dark meant trouble.
We believed Roy Rogers could sing away sorrow
And Gene Autry could stop a range war with a guitar.
I salute the men who waddled through custard pies,
Chaplin with his cane twirling against despair,
Keaton staring down catastrophe without blinking,
Harold Lloyd hanging from the clock above the street.
Ben Turpin squinting at the universe sideways,
Laurel and Hardy destroying pianos and plumbing alike,
Abbott and Costello arguing logic into madness,
The Three Stooges poking holes in civilization one eye at a time.
I pledge devotion to Groucho’s insults,
To Chico’s piano tricks,
To Harpo’s bicycle horn and silent grin,
That impossible yellow wig glowing like moonlight
In worlds that only existed between reels.
I honor the voices and visions
Of John Ford finding poetry in Monument Valley,
Frank Capra finding goodness in ordinary people,
Billy Wilder sharpening dialogue like a switchblade,
Preston Sturges turning chaos into symphonies,
Howard Hawks teaching cool men how to talk fast,
Hitchcock making terror from shadows and staircases.
And I honor the writers too,
Those poor exhausted souls in smoke-filled rooms
Hammering miracles into typewriters
At three cents a word.
Ben Hecht, Dorothy Parker, Robert Riskin,
Mankiewicz with a bottle nearby and genius close behind.
I honor Bogart beneath the trench coat brim,
Cagney exploding like dynamite in a fedora,
Bette Davis staring down the world without surrender,
Barbara Stanwyck tougher than half the cowboys,
Jimmy Stewart stumbling toward decency,
Cary Grant outrunning airplanes in polished shoes,
Peter Lorre smiling nervously from dark corners,
Edward G. Robinson snarling over grapefruit and crime.
And the monsters — bless the monsters.
Karloff walking slowly beneath the laboratory lightning,
Lugosi spreading his cape like midnight itself,
Lon Chaney becoming a hundred haunted men,
Vincent Price inviting us into beautiful nightmares
With a voice dipped in candle wax and graveyard dust.
I believe in rain made from hoses.
In thunder shaken from sheets of metal.
In castles built from plywood.
In spaceships hung on visible wires.
In oceans painted onto glass.
In wolves that were obviously German Shepherds.
In saloons where every swinging door squeaked exactly the same.
I believe in special effects done by desperate geniuses
Using glue, mirrors, smoke, fishing line,
And whatever happened to be lying around the studio lot.
I believe a story matters more than spectacle.
That a line of dialogue can outlive an explosion.
That one look between two actors
Can carry more weight than an army of computers.
I reject the polished emptiness
Of worlds too perfect to breathe in.
Give me scratches on the film.
Give me missed cues and wobbling scenery.
Give me painted stars on black velvet skies.
Give me actors who knew how to speak
Instead of merely surviving the noise.
Because somewhere in all that fakery
Was something strangely true.
The white hats beat the black hats.
The hero got the girl.
The background on the spindle kept spinning,
Watch it whirl.
A celluloid adventure,
Cowboys nowhere close to what they were —
But for one shining hour in the darkness,
They were exactly what we needed them to be.
And should the modern world forget these treasures,
I shall remember them still.
The slapstick comics.
The detectives in foggy alleys.
The dancing girls descending staircases.
The lonely monsters.
The noble sheriffs.
The newspapermen yelling into telephones.
The lovers kissing while orchestras swelled beneath them.
I will remember the old theatres,
The smell of dust and warm projectors,
The thrill when the lights went down
And the curtains slowly opened like royalty entering the room.
And somewhere beyond the beam of light,
Beyond the spinning reels and painted deserts,
Beyond the cardboard cactus and paper rocks,
A cowboy still rides across the screen in black and white,
Tipping his hat toward eternity.
Watch the next show for a nickel.
And don’t forget your spurs.
May 23
May 23, 2026 at 1:19 PM UTC
"i pledge allegiance to the flag..."
but which flag?
not my flag
i have no devotion to the flag that never cared for me
that decided my uniqueness was one step too far
the flag that not only protects predators
and pedophiles
and rapists
but gives them power in our government
that flag doesn't represent me
"...of the united states of america..."
but from where i'm sitting,
the states don't look that united
lines of division drawn between
political parties
and
people groups
breaking apart families, friendships, and relationships alike
"...and to the republic for which it stands..."
but i was taught "republic" meant
power resides with the citizens
and that's not happening
what i see is one man making all the calls
deciding which lives are worth protecting
killing children
seperating families
even though 59 to 62% of americans disapprove of his actions
"...one nation under god, indivisible..."
but is this what your god would want?
from what i remember, he said to love others as yourself
to welcome foreigners into your homes
and i don't recall it being followed by "unless..."
yet the division is ingrained into our existence
the ostracization of communities a daily ritual
"...with liberty and justice for all."
but i think all
really just stands for
cis
straight
white
neurotypical
able-bodied
men
and that's not me
no matter how hard i might try
so, really, i think it should be
i pledge allegiance to your flag
of the divided states of america
and to the dictatorship for which it stands
one nation, under hate, fragmented
with liberty and justice for some
May 13
May 13, 2026 at 10:15 AM UTC
Know this.
If you called me at 2 a.m , 6 months from now
and told me you needed me
I would break every law
To get there as fast as l could.
And if you called, just to sit in complete silence,
I would sit there untill you fell asleep.
I will always be there
Even if you're not.
Dec 5, 2025
Dec 5, 2025 at 8:34 AM UTC
My vow
shattered on the floor
and with it
came an out-pour
of my blood.
I'm sorry
for what I've
done, will
you forgive
me, still?
I know
who you are:
guilt. you
are here to scar,
not wound.
The blade
was mine. I set
the timer for
failure; a clean
crisp one.
Sep 24, 2025
Sep 24, 2025 at 3:34 PM UTC
I pledge allegiance
to all the stones in the road
that have given me succor,
to every poet-of-anywhere
who greets me
with wetted, parted lips and open heart,
who greets the sun-rays shared, inching,
opening o'er my yet living,
praying body, reminding me
that I am alive,
that I am warm
that I feel poetry in, on,
cells, all over, deep in my extremities
Most importantly, in my busted heart,
where warmth is stored in a soul restored,
and Life affirmed,
For who knows how
many more times
I will know this,
How many more times
I will able compose this,
Play "measure the future''
in seconds or years and
grimaced smiles over tears,
or just one or the other,
that be willed to supersede;
Will keep you posted
in every realized and many some stillborn poem,
rising with the grand entrance of morn skies,
or perhaps, lies buried neath in each horizon's cemetarial,
and
even those,
that straddle a confusing and confused moon,
of a twenty fours hours existence,
be shoulder-borne,
bathed in
combinatorial equatorial
moon & sun light,
so we can bathe, like Bathsheba (1)
by both,
and delight
at the exact same moment's portent,
no matter,
the disregarded, discarded,
why
we are
who we are
when pledge and plead
allegiance to those eyes that read our scrivenings
nml
Aug 27, 2025
Aug 27, 2025 at 11:57 AM UTC
bone whistle breath
whittling the words i curse with thistle
no more taking life like medicine
flob it all up and rate the streets
license to do
Jun 6, 2025
Jun 6, 2025 at 6:07 PM UTC
I'm all yours,
till the Stars lose their glory.
I'm all yours,
till the Birds fail to sing.
I'm all yours,
till the end of Life's story.
Darling this My Pledge,
to U I bring.
Aug 19, 2023
Aug 19, 2023 at 9:21 AM UTC
I owe you my life
My wisdom
My talents
My strengths
My beauty.
I thought I knew myself but
I’ll never know me like
How you've known me.
And somehow
You looked passed the ugly
And deemed me
Deserving.
Pulled me to safety
Away from the edge
Inspired within me an urge
To give you my pledge
To serve.
When I thought I reached a peak
I was proven to be short-sighted.
When I was presented with the answers
My heart was delighted
And my soul lifted.
You are like the stick my stem is stuck to
As I grow tall, broad and straight.
You are the rope I hold on to
As I climbed and floated,
And you weren't bothered by my weight.
You’re a friend to me,
You’re the 'someone I always wanted'.
Heard me cry scream and sob
And you were patient when insulted.
And so I live by your mercy
As you've been exalted,
And I pledge to continue serving
So that I can prove to you
To myself
That I am deserving.
Nov 9, 2020
Nov 9, 2020 at 8:35 AM UTC
I
Wish
You
To
Join me
Being us
For
The better human project
Sep 12, 2020
Sep 12, 2020 at 1:37 AM UTC
Among the hideous shapes
you are my favoured
For the wretched silence of your scoliotic spine
flavoured with our crimson wine:
Blood diamonds
screaming songs of sirens
writhing on a desiccated island's edge
Boiled alive—
can be distilled into the language of a pledge
I hereby promise to be yours
Foretell you will be mine
Aug 17, 2020
Aug 17, 2020 at 2:13 PM UTC
They say patience
Is a virtue
But, being with you
My heart turns careless
Is that so much of a sin
It is the only vice that seems true
Apr 29, 2020
Apr 29, 2020 at 5:43 PM UTC
Even if from a distance confined
Realisation of the greatest respect
By life’s volatility remaining aside
Still craving to protect
Understand for a fact
That even if a worst fortune
Prevented me to act
And accede to no more importune
Despite lying on the ground
No longer dwelling in the trails
Words unable be found
Prevented to share tales
Veiled in the dark of night
My gaze no longer hunts yours
Eyes not reacting to light
My affection still endures
Wind forever forsaking my lungs
Heart that have no more hours
The words shorten in our tongues
When I alone await in the tomb
For the cycle to be complete
Returning to the womb
Making this life obsolete
Still aspiring to be your knight
When life no longer allow
Quiet and resolute I will fight
To fulfil my silent vow
Hear my lonely plight
Angel in all your shine
Help me with my regard
Complete my vision
Always in her guard
Replace me in my mission
Oct 7, 2019
Oct 7, 2019 at 7:26 AM UTC
Lie across
Train tracks
Without fear
Call it insanity
Yet you stand
Willingly
Hand on chest
Pledging your life
To the men
Who dictate you
Sep 27, 2019
Sep 27, 2019 at 8:27 PM UTC
If I went back in time I’d kick myself in the shin,
try to grow a spine and then reinforce my chin,
with hardened steel over rusted tin.
‘Cause it’s taken hits beyond count, infact I’ve lost track of the amount,
but I know even with my jaw broken I can still force out a grin.
I don’t want to have to lie
but it seems I’m guided into it for an alibi,
and I can’t help but question why I try,
when there’s no one to answer to; just time flying by.
I’m not as stupid as I act,
but I guess I can say I’m a good actor.
I make a sound but immediately retract,
because in a split second I balance every factor.
I don’t want to be another casualty
in a war effort so effortlessly,
in a fight that shouldn’t concern me,
but my flight instinct took flight instinctively.
If I could go back in time I’d clock myself in the face,
past me would rebut “what a disgrace,”
while I’d agree to the mirrored me who’s never finishing, **** even last place.
I know that my shoes were tight and tied,
I was at the line waiting I never could hide,
but still I’d trip and flounder, I should’ve double checked each lace.
I don’t want to have to lie
but it seems it’s better than admitting defeat or spitting out a goodbye.
And I can’t help but wonder why,
I even cry when I’ve taped my mouth shut and closed each eye.
The butterfly of my effect has lost each wing,
trapped in a jar, not going far;
what a tragic thing.
I press my hand against the dome,
to let it be known, it’s not alone,
this prison’s now it’s home.
Poetry has given me the ability to travel through time
to stand in shoes I abandoned on the concrete.
Paint the scenery in every word and rhyme,
and change the outcome in each stanza and beat.
I fully feel the sun shine and the wind’s blow
every single day like I’ve just arrived and met.
Now I’m cursed to be a Romeo to a stand in Juliet.
Design the plan for me, and I’ll blur the lines and matra,
I’ll fight as Marc Anthony to only one Cleopatra.
Jul 16, 2019
Jul 16, 2019 at 11:16 PM UTC
Sundays at home, are overwhelming.
People who should think of future, are engulfed by fire of past.
Open your door to new friends, before their fingers are bruised by knocking. I said to myself... this Sunday.
Jul 7, 2019
Jul 7, 2019 at 3:46 AM UTC
i disavow my allegiance to the flag,
& to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.
for we are not one people,
we are not united,
we do not live in love,
& we are unfortunately serviced.
what does the future hold for my Bahama land?
with our resources not being utilized for the betterment of our people...
but being sold to non-Bahama land.
no profits being aimed to,
or sources being owned by
our Bahama man.
as i lift my head to the rising of the sun in this Bahama land,
i see no hope for the future, no hope in my Bahama land.
no one to speak up,
the youth are out of luck.
the elders show no interest,
we are doomed.
still,
we march on to the glory..
but what bright banners do we have to wave high?
the means of the leaders are of no significance,
& i can no longer bear the pain that i witness.
how will we excel
if we do not love,
& unite?
going forward,
will we stand together
for a common, loftier goal?
as i lift up my head to the rising sun in my Bahama land;
i see anguish,
i see fear &
leaders with no care.
all the things i see are broad.
...but may the road that my people trod
lead us to our God,
that will help us on this march to save our Bahama land.
Jun 21, 2018
Jun 21, 2018 at 8:49 PM UTC
Worry less
reduce stress
Let go
have love show
Hold a hand
take a stand
Lose control
shore patrol
Distemper the temper
alleviate anger
Less of a lug
more bear hugs
Take a hike
ride my bike
Get a kiss
from my Miss
Turn off the TV
just be
Count blessings
not window dressings
Volunteer
cheer
Be a friend
till the end
Andreas Simic©
May 14, 2018
May 14, 2018 at 5:58 AM UTC
Promise to mend
my bruised resolve
with tender hands,
and I will fight
your wars.
Feb 5, 2018
Feb 5, 2018 at 12:28 AM UTC