Country Song

Dammit,
country —

I wanted to write a song, 
wanted to sing, to play, to love and dance —

and then there was one violation, 
then another and more, and I began

to see how many there were, how many
there are, how the waves of violations

sculpted and sculpt our shores, how the winds
of violations cut and have cut into our sands,

how the surges and ebbs of violations
have been the surges and ebbs of our 

flags, how we are the surges and ebbs and 
our eyes squint through the violations

as if we were free to sing, to play,
to love and dance with no restrictions, as if we 

were free —
and I have no idea how it will be

to be free, how we will ever be free
to sing and dance and play and yes,

to love as if the violations
were not there in the sand and the shore,

as if the eyes we were born with 
had never been violated, as if the flags

were not the whole story
of the violations…dammit, country,

how I wish you were truly mine
to love, to sing for, to dance with, to heal.