The Flag - Rafael Jesús González

[Larry Robinson]

The Flag

			At our best
                     we show our true colors,
                        fly the flag that stands
                        for our deepest, broadest
                       allegiance to each other,
                       to the Earth holy & diverse.

                    These are my colors:

                    red of my love that colors all
                  & is the root & flower & fruit,
                the heart of my belief
                  & what I know of truth.

                orange of my abandon, my surrender
                      to my living, mindless of laws
                  that would fetter the steps
                     of my wildest dances.

                   yellow of my joy that tastes
                    of the sun, exultation in the
                   wealth of the senses,
                   root of my power & my love.

                     green of my hopes that wing
                     my desires & lend will
                  to my acts, that inform
                even my opposition
                      to outrage.

                     blue of my memories
                     that make my history of wings
                   that soar to the mountains
                      & drop to the ravines,
                  complex topography of myself.

                   purple of my sorrows, my remorse,
                       my shame for betrayals of the heart,
                    most often of omission,
                through weariness or fear.
                        This is my flag;
                                its colors run,
                        diffuse at the edges,
                                blend, shade
                        into hues, half-tones
                                difficult to name.

                        The tongues that praise it
                      are so many, so varied, & so sweet
                      their chorus rivals the birds'
                  & silences the angels in their flight.
                        Known everywhere
                                as sign of peace & joy,
                        let this be our flag;
                                its colors dance.

		- Rafael Jesús González