Star-Spangled Banner

A betrayal
to stand
with your hand
over your heart
and sing
the song

of the country
occupying
your country

to read every star
on the flag
above
your country’s flag

and see the last one
there: small, white
and pointed

stitched into the blue
with a thin thread

as if
it has always
been that way

as if
it can never
be undone.

Credit

Originally published in Black Renaissance Noire. Copyright © 2013 by Brandy Nālani McDougall. Used with the permission of the poet.