Pledge

Today is Independence Day.
Tomorrow will also be Independence Day.
I wave the banner of the present moment.
I pledge allegiance to no flag, no nation.
I pledge allegiance to no tribe or party.

I pledge allegiance to no bombs bursting in air,

I pledge allegiance to silence, to a day of prayer.

Patriotism is rebellion, rebellion is joy.

Cast down the mighty, the masters of war.

I pledge allegiance to the poor.
I pledge allegiance to hemp and sod.

I pledge allegiance to the unnamed god.

To the moon and tide, to sun and wind
and what I cannot know,

to a light that contains all colors,
to the rainbow.

I pledge allegiance to no belief

but an heirloom tomato seed,
a living coral reef,

the wisdom in a weed.
When the fireworks last too long
after midnight, and sulfur lingers in the air,

I pledge allegiance to the huddled deer,
the stray dog in the street,
the shivering sparrow in a bush,
the veteran cringing in the heat
of his most ancient fear.
I don't need more bombs.
I need to hear
the gentle bursting of peonies 
in my garden.
I need to savor the sunset
as it rises over Gaza,
to honor whoever I meet
with a breath of peace.
They don't have to know.
Something in my chest
will melt away the borders
of every nation.
Now take off your shoes, go slow.
Don't burn the flag, unravel its thread.

We hunger for a common bread.
With all my relations, gathered at birth,
I pledge allegiance to the earth,
the infant curled in mother's sea of trust.
I pledge allegiance to the dust.
To all winged and swimming things,
to creatures that crawl or come out at night,
brothers, sisters, four-leggéd and two,

I pledge allegiance to you.

Water color: Light Filled Peony by Marney Ward