Poetry

[ Previous ] [ Home ] [ Up ] [ Next ]

 

Happy Summer Day

by Lionel E. Deimel

 

An ordinary drive across town

Past the usual scenery with its familiar flagpoles

Fronting fire station, bank, courthouse, high school

Flying red, white, and blue banners

Emblazoned against a cloudless azure sky

Below their bold silver finials

Evincing pride in a great nation

And announcing a happy day across the land:

There were no mass shootings yesterday.

 

 

 

 
As I drive through town, I often see flags at half-staff. I sometimes know why this is so but not always. When I don’t know, I wonder what the occasion is. All too often, flags are flown at half-staff in memory of people—often children—recently murdered in a mass shooting. These atrocities are happening so often these days that it’s hard to keep track of them all.

I wrote this poem on 9/14/2019 after realizing that seeing flags flying high signifies that the day before was a good day.

— LED, 4/5/2023

Previous Home Up Next

 
Send mail to Lionel Deimel with questions or comments about Lionel Deimel’s Farrago.
Copyright © 2000-2023 by Lionel Deimel. All rights reserved.