The flags are down,
I noticed this morning,
on Broad St., in Bloomfield, N.J.,
my hometown.

Perhaps 20%, maybe less,
of the homes
along this major thoroughfare
are flying
Old Glory.

After September 11,
it was more like 75-80%,
maybe as much as
85, who showed the
Red, White and Blue.

Please don’t misunderstand me.
I don’t think that
everyone who wears a flag/
waves a flag/displays a flag
is a Bush/Cheney supporter,
a war-and-oil man,
a usurper of all I hold dear,
a monumental threat to
the people of the world
and hope for a decent future.

No, I don’t think that.

But I believe that
the coming down of many flags
means some things:
-that there IS hope for the future
-that growing numbers of
our fellow citizens
are deeply concerned and afraid
about the world the Bushites
are trying to lead us into
-that many of us are
just not buying
the plans for war,
the false patriotism,
Ashcroft attacks,
the lies, the lies, the lies.