I pledge allegiance to the moon & all the ghost
stories for which she stands, the public light & sha-
dows that make little claims. I pledge allegiance
to all the poets & their poems about her, her
pocked face, her ever serene smile, her phases &
how she grows from cradle to coin spinning so
quickly, only half of her is visible
to the worshipping eye. I pledge allegiance to
the moon when she blooms to a rounded diamond
that shimmers once a month, pulling the ocean tides
& our inner rivers, keeping us on course. I
pledge allegiance to Artemis & the Hunt, though
I am more & more vegetable these days & can-
not digest the sight of meat. I pledge allegiance
to my thumbs: it is this one digit that separates
me from those who roam freely in the verdant wild
though my kingdom is unruly as well with their tanks
and their bombs and their bombs and their guns &
Dolores wailing through the speaker in the next
room. I pledge allegiance to the key sticking in
the locks. Maybe we aren’t meant to open some doors.
Maybe we are meant to walk away. I pledge allegiance
to the girls who want to learn to swim, I pledge
allegiance to want & knowledge, for having desire
for something outside these four repetitive walls
surrounded by a moat. I pledge allegiance
to the window from where I can love the moon. I
pledge allegiance to her, our one moon under God –
indivisibly reflecting liberty’s light on just us all.
