Have you ever seen a soldier
lift the better part of his arm
upward the elbow
to a Huey hoping to return it
to his draft board,
or a guy run to a Medivac
trying to hold his guts inside
his jungle fatigues,
or a PFC fire a Forty-five
against the temple of an ancient
South Vietnamese village chief
to watch an old man’s brains
blow red and gray against bamboo walls?
Have you ever seen or heard about these things?
If not, tear down those flags
from storefronts hawking your merchandise,
and from real estate signs on Independence Day.
Better yet, turn off the old um-pa-pa,
knock off the parades, political speeches,
stay home, drink beer, grill steaks,
play volleyball, shoot horseshoes,
do anything helps you feel less guilty,
gooey, teary-eyed, joyous and patriotic,
leave the real one armed, one legged,
one eyed patriot alone
and just shut the fuck up