Sam

The following was inspired by a recent WordCrafters prompt (Carrie always picks the best prompts).

When the ship landed (without conception,
without birth), my sole touched dirt.
When the cloth became sea and blood and star and peace,
I, too, was clothed.
When the dozen became a hundred became a thousand,
I became fierce.
I became prayer.
I became war.
I became.

I am not jailed by any orator.
Interrogate me.

When you see your face, you see a star
In my constellation.

I am nothing but paint and myth.
I am nothing but a flag falling and rising.
I am nothing but a mask.

Wear me, when you claim me,
To see the shining of every face around you.
Wear me, when you claim me,
Until the torch flames in the lady's fist.