Glory Glory

For 20 years it stood tall and proud
Outside of my childhood home
Valiantly rippling and cracking in the breeze
Blood, tears, and innocence staining its face.
For 20 years it stood while neighbors tore at it
Trying to poke holes
But it never broke and we never doubted
It is now the 21st year since it broke into flight of its own accord
The tears have dried,
The blood is tainted,
And the white cloth of innocence has since been dirtied
As kids we believed that (like us) it was invincible, infallible
And yet, now it is a torn dust rag
Held high for all whom like a spectacle
But as I walk away from the ground
Beneath it where as a child I played
I look back in wonder
The fog of night gave way
In just enough time for me to realize
That it was still standing