I’m tried of this whisper being so quiet
I’m ready for it to turn into a scream
Tired of the protests, signs and buttons
Degrading bravery and pain
I remember being a young girl
Probably 6 or so
I saw these little freckles
Freckles colored gray
Flakes of patriotism all in my fathers arm
We were playing in the yard
Rather I was playing and he was working on the car
I reached up to wipe them off
Is it dirt?
Oil from the car?
It didn’t smear
They didn’t run
What is that? I questioned
So there we were a child and her hero
A hero and his child
Him trying to explain
Me trying to comprehend
Shrapnel
Later in my life we went to them moving wall
Probably 13 or so I was
A big, strong, caring father
Weeping for his brothers
Brothers from a different womb
Banding together to save each other’s lives
There I was a teenager with a soldier
And a soldier with his teenager
Trying to explain and understand why
So many names
And here I am today a young woman and her dad
A dad and his woman child
I see the American chicken
Track it’s way through these misinformed idiots
I cry for the soldier who got spit on just a few months ago
I cry for the heroes who never came home
I cry to my god thanking it for mine
For the love it brought to me
I don’t dare not support the people who keep me safe
And I say I’m grateful for the rights I have
Because of them.