Fourth of July?

This year I didn’t lay out an outfit for the fourth,

This year I wore all blue

I didn’t want to represent the other side,

Not today.

This year we didn’t go to the parade 

I didn’t want to celebrate this country,

Not today,

Not when this country won’t celebrate its own people.

This year we got chicken from the local church 

Like we always do

It wouldn’t be my choice 

But at least my parents didn’t have to cook, 

They have enough on their plates 

This year we won’t be watching fireworks 

Or talking about the beauty of being patriotic 

This year the Fourth of July doesn’t feel like a marker of our freedom 

It feels like a reminder we aren’t truly free at all

And I don’t need a reminder,

Not today.