Frances Scott Key Reflects on His Star-Spangled Banner & Never Friends by Vern Fein
Frances Scott Key Reflects on His Star-Spangled Banner
A Tribute to Colin Kaepernick
Oh, say I can see by the dawn’s early light
that our nation won freedom at twilight’s last gleaming.
That we declared ourselves the land of the free
despite the millions of slaves we owned.
Oh, say I can see as I stand so proudly,
a brave captive on this British deck
and watch the enemy bomb our fort and flag,
relentlessly pound our freedom into the ground.
I don’t notice the slaves that are swimming
desperately towards the British vessels,
don’t yet know that a thousand slaves
helped the Redcoats sack our Capitol,
hoping to escape from their American slavers
to the unknown shores of Canada,
believing that Northern freezing clime
will better suit them than our care
for the hirelings and slaves we believe
satisfied with our Heaven-rescued land
than any place that has a king.
Oh, say I can see the ignorance
of these people released from African tyranny,
as I opined, “a distinct and inferior race of people,
people who cannot take care of themselves “
if freed and are destined for ruin,
thus kindly I would send them back to Africa.
Oh, say, I see why I chose to lawyer
with my friend Chief Justice Roger Taney to forge
the Dred Scott decision because these ex-slaves
could not take care of themselves.
Oh, say I could not see the Civil War coming,
when my brave Southern states fought
to still enslave these threats to our privilege,
to oppress even after we lost the War,
destroy Reconstruction, fly Jim Crow,
idolize the Klan and keep waving
our Confederate flags right through
Civil Rights and killing King,
as the Party of Lincoln continues
to wave the flag and undermine every effort
to allow these centuries old, oppressed people
the freedom and dignity my anthem celebrated.
KEEP AMERICA GREAT FOREVER.
Colin took a knee.
Millions protest now.
Never Friends
Back in the Day, a hot redhead,
Pill—jumped us right into bed,
a first date kiss was a first date fuck.
Sex at first sight, first night screw.
Never friends, moaned and screamed
more than walked and talked.
Passionate for a few weeks,
then moved on until the next one
spied our libido—bang bang.
Years later we connected on Facebook,
exchanged our lives on email.
She said this:
“I finally got married,
to a really hot Middle Eastern man,
as passionate as it ever was,
but 17 years later, a nasty divorce,
don’t even speak to each other
except about our confused children.”
Never friends.
In old age, now, try to fathom,
try to look back through
the wrong end of a telescope,
make everything smaller,
more clear, it dawns on me.
Sex is wild fun. Friendship binds
and if we had to do it over again,
how about a dinner date,
walk and talk, a picnic, walk and talk,
in a bit, hold hands, together
some movies, popcorn,
an arm around the chair back,
in a bit, a peck on the cheek,
read some poetry together, a hug,
in a bit, lips, love your garden,
always walking and talking,
that stupid old courtship thing,
becoming friends, maybe
who knows, not both divorced,
sitting lonely, cities apart.
“I send these three poems because I have sent them out a lot and they have been rejected and I am discouraged because I think they are good ones and, as you will see from my Bio, my poems have been fairly well received since I started writing poetry upon retirement five years ago. Perhaps it is their controversial subject matter, though that would not be true of the Scrooge poem. At any event, these are the poems of mine that I think best fall into your category.”
A retired special education teacher, Vern Fein has published over 250 poems on over 90 different sites. His first poetry book—I WAS YOUNG AND THOUGHT IT WOULD CHANGE—was released earlier this year. He/Him, @poetplain.com, Urbana, Illinois, USA.