Betsy Ross folds white fabric
into five-pointed swans, transforming
squares into freedom origami.
But the unimpressed general
has zero sense of taste. He wants
something new so bad, his tiny head
refuses to move or smile or speak
until he hears the word stars. His
eyes flicker like embers from fire.
#
Fold a piece of paper in half.
Fold it in half again. Fold it
fifty times as you double
the width exponentially.
You’ll make a staircase to the moon.
But unproven generals fold
on their own until you bring
a piece of fabric to a widow
upholsterer. The stars will never
look the same again.
#
Fold a star in half (fold a star
in half (fold a star in half (fold
a star in half (fold a star in half))))
until you lose track of all
the parenthetical echoes
of folding. Until you lose track
of the asides.
#
Liberty and justice for all (except
women (except slaves (except
the people found living here
we parade to death camps
far away (except the prisoners
and the poor (except Asians
(except anyone without a powdered
wig or a degree in law (except
any arbitrary exceptions
we’ll just make up someday))))).
#
Freedom is a rebranded name
for an old prescription drug
with an hour of voice-over warnings.
Freedom should be considered
arbitrary and mean; an empty promise
delivered with bad intentions. Freedom
has been shown in trials to cause
diarrhea, overpopulated prisons,
and duplicitous pyramid schemes;
self-loathing and death. Look outside
your over-mortgaged house to that
over-mortgaged tree. A noose swings
from a twisted branch. It’s the only
Freedom that you’ll see.
#
Fold thirteen stars again
until you’re left with fifty.
Fold fifty stars again
until you make a million.
Lay flat flag triangles
down on casket tops.
Democracy is just another word
for folding.
#
Betsy Ross sees into the future
that afternoon with George.
She lights a single match.
–
Kurt Cole Eidsvig is a visual artist as well as a poet, and the author of several books that explore both art and language. His most recent book, Drowning Girl, is a book-length poem inspired by the Roy Lichtenstein painting of the same name. His writing has earned recognition including a Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellowship, a Warhol Foundation/Creative Capital Award, the Edmund Freeman Award, and a teaching fellowship from the University of Montana.
–
