Oh say can you see
The home of the brave?

I see none.
I see the truth.
I do see, tis true,
Not by dawn’s early light.
No lights springing from the sun’s rays,
But from the silvery beams of the moon.
And bursts of light,
Dancing from a thousand shutters;
A thousand cameras,
Capturing the scene.
To remind us forever
Of the crime we committed
And the “honor” we must
So proudly hail

Paramedics rush in
Only to find,
They are too late
Only to find,
Mother on knees
Holding her angel
Holding her boy in her arms
As she watches her son's
Twilight gleam one last time
Broad Shoulders to embrace no more
His bright, starry eyes, locked
Into those of his mother

His eyes shut.
The world stops
As we watch him lose
His perilous fight.

O’er these ramparts we watch
Ramparts created by the line of armed men
Over walls
Over Physical and emotional walls
We watch.
Silently watching
As he is gallantly streamed
From the privacy of
His home
His Jerusalem
His. Death Bed.

Taken out as gallantly
As he walked the Earth
Proud, noble and unafraid.
Unafraid of his truth

The moment comes
He’s rushed to the cars.
Silence.
Disbelief.
Realization.
All sweep over the crowd.

The only sound left
Is one of pure horror
A sound so ugly and jarring
It was barely heard through the crowd

One solitary screech bursting through the air
A blood curdling scream
As his mother falls to her knees
Giving up the fight
One shocking scream slices through the silence
Breaking every heart in the crowd.
The bombastic bellow bursting
Through the air
Confirming what they all knew
Giving them proof
Through the night
That justice, love, and her son
Were no longer there

O say he's not gone,
This starry eyed boy
Deemed to be a star in life.

Spangled in love
Strangled by hate
Mangled at his own hand
This boy, my friend
Was always full of
Individualism
Beauty
And creativity
This banner boy
Shall never again wave
Or breath.

The land of the not so free
And the home of the cowards.

The land of be who you are,
Unless you’re different.

The home of the barbaric
The home of the beaten.

The land of the free
And the home of the brave.

Until this day
Until this boy
I believed those words

Now in the shadows
Of the aftermath
Of the destruction

I lie here pondering
Wondering
Remembering the stories

We stand in school
And recite this anthem
But it's nothing but words

I think to myself
Day after day
What if I’d been there?
What if I’d given my friendship?

I know I didn’t drag
The razor across his wrists
But I watched the blood rushing down his arm
I know I didn’t tie the noose
Around his small neck
But I didn’t do a thing
To loosen the death grip
Viper hold.
They had on him.

I am just as much to blame
As the ones who taunted him
Day after day
Leading him to climb on that chair
Begging for his chance at that freedom
Guaranteed to him by his national anthem.

I might as well,
Have pushed him off the edge
As the noose tightened
Cutting off all air
In his final rebellion
Against those who beat him down

Take my friend’s story
Do with it as you please
But don’t forget
To love those close to you
And those who aren’t
Or they will be gone.
The world will stop.
You will be to blame.

The land of the free
And the home of the brave.

This was all that I wanted
For my Star Spangled Warrior.