for shipping and handling,

and a couple weeks of impatiently

checking the mail,

my free pride flag arrived on my doorstep.

I flew it from the porch as the breeze

made those rainbow stripes

dance like daffodils to

the eternal songs of longing

and resistance.

I took it down,

fastened it to my shoulders

like so much Kryptonian vigilance,

and hit the streets.

Leaping tall buildings in a single bound,

racing locomotives and 9mm slugs,

I beam at all of my compatriots

as they too saunter down the street

waving free pride flags and hollering

about the state of democracy.

And you, dear reader,

I wave to you as you fly

free pride flags and set

police cruisers ablaze.

Cinderblocks rain from

the overpasses and interchanges,

falling upon the tanks

and upon the toes of those

tank commanders.

Falling upon the descendants

of General Joseph E. Johnston

and his long-tailed horse.

Falling upon the hatred,

the lies, the greed

of the post-modern age.