Of blue and red oh of ancient

The splash of colors against the stripes

The dense tightness of a star fist

Grabbing onto the blue night sky

Hiding both and holding court

Banished to its own natural square

Backed into a corner in the midst

Of the marching lines of red and white

Every other flat row against each other

Like soldiers setting off to battle

I pledge allegiance we say hand over

Heart and try to recall the counting numbers

Of those who returned and those who were

Lost— We stamp our feet on the solid ground

And announce this is our flag strong and

True the dense colors intertwined with

God and freedom and somewhere

Inside the rectangle is our own quiet

Body of liberty where we are counting

On our hands and imagining the multiplication tables

Spelling out America with the colored chalk

When called to the front of the room.