Seven Letters

On a Value That's Often Championed and Rarely Defined

We fly the flag of freedom here

We wave the flagstaff high

We celebrate it every year

With lightshows in the sky

Seven letters, all you need

To write it down so plain

And yet to spell out what it means

Seems constantly a pain

You’re free to speak, but here’s the catch

if you want to state your mind

You’re free to speak your thoughts, as long

As they agree with mine

They say you should be free to see

The doctor that you call

But same folks say if you can’t pay

You shan’t see the doc at all

We’re promised life and liberty

Yet in the hearts of cities

You’re out of luck if down on luck

You just don’t look as pretty

as iron bars and muscle cars

No sleeping on the bench!

How dare you think we want you here

If you cannot make rent.

People say they want more freedom

To break their chains and rise

But they so often seem to fight

For peoples just alike

It’s cool to say that such lives matter

It’s trending and it’s hot

I challenge them: do you still care

If they differ with their thoughts?

We’re free to hire and to fire

Our people as we please

But if I do not have a business

What good does that do me?

If we’re beholden to our bosses

To do what they may please

Are we not then tied to work?

Are we still truly free?

We’re free to worship the God we want

(or gods, if so inclined)

But does this freedom thus guarantee

To deny each other rights?

To all these questions, I have few answers

I merely pose them here

To try and ask about this value

We claim to hold so dear.

Freedoms often contradict

It’s a simple fact of life

Sadly we often have to choose

And our choices spark up strife

We want that, but we want this

We cannot have them both

Debate and haggle over which

Or send it to a vote

Set one man free, another screams

That their freedom is not free

So when I see the flag, I think

“Am I really free?”

Author's Note

Something that I ponder as I read the news sometimes...

Reviews

[CarlyFlower]

I am not one for poems normally but I really like this! It's very provoking. Questions are important

[Goulden Bean]

Thank you so much Carly! I'm glad I could be an exception, heheh...

[Write Cat]

I once heard that freedom is inside your soul and not on the outside... It is what we make our minds and hearts believe. A beautiful and in depth writing!!

[Goulden Bean]

Thank you so much for your kind words! I appreciate the feedback.

[John the Baptist]

Compared to the folks in Raqqa, I would say you are.

[Goulden Bean]

Truly so, I won't argue with you. I simply wrote this as an exploration of my own thoughts, really. I certainly won't say that oppression is as bad as a place like North Korea, China, or Russia. That said though, we can still improve our way of life, and I think it takes some introspection.