Poem - Flag Burning

I sat with my buddy Dave
In his manicured back yard
The Weber grill smoked and our New York steaks
Hissed and dripped

We drank our bottles of Corona in silence
A dove cooed and the wind danced in the
Chinese elm above our heads
And old Vin Scully called the Dodgers-Cubs game

Dave used to talk a lot, laugh a lot
But that was before Jimmy joined the Army
And got posted to Iraq

Jimmy was a decent kid, tall and skinny
With his father’s strong hands and his mother’s green eyes

Dave was against Jimmy joining
I remember him saying,
“There’s no reason for this war.”

Twenty-seven days after he landed in Iraq
Jimmy got blown to bits by an IED
They found his dog tags and a bloody boot

The Army major that came to Dave’s door
Said the nation owed Jimmy a debt of gratitude
Dave told the man: “Get off my porch.”

And then Dave quit talking and started dying
His grief eating him the same way we ate our steaks
One bite at a time, chewing slowly

Dave soaked the folded flag the Army gave him
With gasoline and put a match to it
In his peaceful American yard
On Memorial Day