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the pledge

a series of sonnets for america

By pj bradleyPublished 4 years ago 2 min read
1

1.

i pledge allegiance to the flag, because

i have to, or they’ll put me on a list.

to all this country is and ever was

i pledge my heart, my mind, my life, my fists.

i pledge my loyalty and all my soul.

i pledge to be a cog in the machine.

i pledge to always live down in this hole,

never complain, always remain unseen.

i vow to follow party politics,

to vote for my team, and cheer when they win,

and trust that they’ll do as they say to fix

the mess that everyone but us is in.

i promise to be faithful to the man,

to always give him everything i can.

2.

i pledge a lifetime of obedience,

to do as i am told and not ask why.

i pledge to pay the fines, the fees, the rent,

to drain my bank account just to get by.

i promise to pretend that i don’t see

the horrors all committed in my name

against people less fortunate than me

so i can think i’m safe, despite the shame.

i pledge allegiance to the government,

because there’s nothing else that i can do.

i pledge allegiance to the president,

and every man that comes after him, too.

i vow to give thanks for what i receive;

i vow to love this place and never leave.

3.

i swear to just accept my lot in life,

to never wonder why things are this way,

to give up all my dreams to be a wife,

and while i’m at it, to forget i’m gay.

i pledge to value profit over good,

although the profit i make isn’t mine,

to give my labor freely like i should,

to always keep the bosses’ pockets lined.

i pledge allegiance to the stolen land,

and to the heroes who took it with blood,

and all the deaths in which they had a hand,

the peoples they ground down into the mud.

and then i pledge allegiance to the soil,

because it may one day turn into oil.

4.

i pledge allegiance to each empty house

and to each person living on the streets,

each one a human, treated like a louse,

deprived of basic, simple human needs.

i pledge allegiance to the money first,

and then to all the trivial details;

to always give my best, or maybe worst,

to minimize joy and maximize sales.

i pledge allegiance to the uppermost

who’ll step on anyone below with ease,

who hesitate to give, but not to boast,

who dream of opportunities to seize.

and to the innocents who take the blame:

i promise to ignore that we’re the same.

5.

i pledge allegiance to the way things go,

the way that things will always have to be,

because everyone always tells me so,

and i cannot change it, i’m only me.

i pledge allegiance to the burning world,

unsalvageable without sacrifice,

the crisis into which we’ve all been hurled

against our will and all our best advice.

i swear to bear the burden of my debt

for all the days i walk upon this earth,

work all my life and take what i can get

to pay off what i owe for what i’m worth.

there, waving like a giant striped price tag,

i pledge allegiance to the hallowed flag.

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About the Creator

pj bradley

twitter @friendlyhag

insta @thestrongerword

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