From: fshck@UMAC on 28/02/2001 03:58 PM
My Flag
is a beachtowel
heavy with sand
whole tribes tangled in it
involuntary sky ?
heart's refuge
in the true of dark
mind's refuge in the heart
the flag
must be all things to all
? a mirror aloft, reflection unfurling
that should make everyone happy
in a room with the queen
you'd see the queen
and she'd see you, her subject
? one among the many flags
in the bush would be magpies to fly in and tangle
? catch them like that when they get territorial
on the front of the big boss's car
? more of chrome
dark tarmac
in the night you'd choose the stars
? bright pinpricks from another sky
in which
the true flag must fly, be windblown, limp
from the accustomed pole ?
a square cut of heaven and no strings attached
Christopher Kelen,
Department of English,
University of Macau,
Taipa, Macau SAR, CHINA
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