anthems allegiances pledges vows
he couldnt wrap his head around
them or the necessity why theyre asked
asked?
no theyre not
theyre dictates theyre required to keep one in line
he was watching a Stanley Cup
play-off game in a small local beer bar they brewed a doubleIPA he was
over the moon for
he came for the beer and the game
he called ahead to be sure they
were going to be showing it it wasnt a sports
bar and if customers werent interested he didnt want to impose himself
he didnt own a television or had watched TV in a long long time
he did however keep his eyeballs
peeled ear to the ground for intriguing matchups
the announcer queued up that the Star-Spangled
Banner Americas national anthem would be followed by the Canadian national
anthem O Canada
a double dip he foolishly hadnt anticipated
he could have arrived ten minutes later and
not missed the puck dropped to start the game
not the kind of
foreplay hed be interested in
he looked around the bar no one seemed to be paying attention as the
Star-Spangled Banner began
he motioned the bartender over and
asked him if he wouldnt mind muting the screen that way he wouldnt disrupt the other
customers who were enjoying their conversations
That’s mighty thoughtful of ya,
bub, we don’t usually watch much sports on it.
I know you dont the reason why I called ahead to see if you
were even going to run it Id have
gone elsewhere if it would have been an inconvenience
No, no, no inconvenience. These folk are the
usuals. They enjoy their chats and arguments, bitch about grain and futures, talk
horses, cattle, swine, small town politics; you’re a fresh face.
I come in on occasion A game seven is hard to pass up
I wouldn’t know.
Wouldnt know
Well I appreciate your help My names Joe
You
Clarence.
A bell I might ring when Id like
another beer
Ha. dismissively No. Clarence will do.
Clarence backed off to mute the anthems
and he wondered if anyone ever tried to shorten his name or what nickname he might go
by he was a big man Johnny Cashs A Boy Named Sue immediately sent off in his head
ah silence
except for the murmur behind
him as he sat at the bar
hed be entertained he didnt have a dog in the fight
and
as fans struck respectful erect poses en masse the broadcast the Jumbotron
inside the arena cut to military jet aircraft streaking over it
did they buy into what they were being
sold a nationalistic pageantry
he didnt get the militarisation
of Sports anymore than the Police why
this small borough had an armoured troop carrier was beyond him
he
supposed they werent peace officers that
they werent there To Protect and Serve
anthems allegiances
pledges
vows
they werent anything
more than devious social constructs addressing supposedly intimate relations
between people and their nation or government or community and also to effect scrutiny of those who didnt
kneeldidnt bow to nationalistic furor incitement propaganda disinformation
when he got married at the County
Courthouse they didnt exchanges vows they didnt put their hands on a Bible they didnt swear
that they married attested to
their devotion and intimacy
words and poses would belittle their
awesome love
thats how they felthow they definitely felt
which was all that was needed
1510, Friday,
19 5. 17
1224, Monday,
26 10. 20
