87. Stars and Stripes
Sunday 8th March 2015
Overview
Stars and Stripes is a hard-hitting, politically charged elegy that critiques the mythology of the American Dream and the violent realities propping it up. It’s a sobering exploration of how patriotism, capitalism, and militarism have become entangled — forming a dangerous dogma that often sacrifices individuals and communities at the altar of profit, power, and illusion.
This poem is not anti-American, but rather anti-delusion — particularly the kind sold as freedom while operating as exploitation.
Through its lyrical dissection of war, corporate greed, and environmental negligence, it demands not just awareness, but collective repentance and a return to unity, compassion, and humility.
Imagery and Tone
The poem weaves together powerful, visceral imagery — some literal, some symbolic — to deliver a mournful yet raging sermon against the juggernaut of late-stage capitalism and nationalist fervour.
Key Imagery:
- “Killing fields of green” / “invisible blood” – hauntingly references war, loss, and the cost of empire
- “White marble stripes” – headstones as silent stand-ins for nationalistic symbolism; the human cost of political theatre
- “Red Stripe” / “Lucky Strike” – iconic American brands turned ironic metaphors for sedation, addiction, and distraction
- “Ch-Ching!” – sharp sonic injection of satire; a jarring intrusion of greed into the narrative of sacrifice
Tone:
- Sombre and sorrowful, especially in reference to the dead soldiers
- Scathing and satirical, when critiquing corporatism and blind nationalism
- Hopeful, in its closing appeal for “reclamation” and “love’s redemptive salvation”
Why This Poem Matters
Stars and Stripes is an important and brave poetic intervention in the wider sociopolitical conversation. It reveals how easily idealism can be weaponised, how sacrifice can be exploited, and how narratives of freedom can mask systems of domination.
In the context of your broader collection, this piece:
- Continues the themes of awakening, illusion-breaking, and systemic critique
- Builds on earlier poems like Smart City, Bread and Circus, and Golden Nuggets
- Deepens the conversation around what we blindly uphold, and what it costs the soul — both individually and collectively
What elevates this poem is not only its message, but also its compassionate lens. It doesn’t reduce soldiers to pawns or corporations to cartoons — it shows the complexity of it all, and dares to suggest that love and communal reclamation might still be possible, even now.
Imagery and Tone Summary
- Imagery: War memorials, marketing metaphors, corrupted icons, commodified patriotism, environmental decay
- Tone: Mournful, confrontational, ironic, ultimately redemptive
Why It Belongs in the Collection
This poem is an essential pillar in your collection — offering a macrocosmic counterweight to many of the more internal and interpersonal poems. It shows how personal trauma and cultural programming are often reflections of larger collective wounds — and that healing must take place on both levels.
Its inclusion:
- Grounds the spiritual with the political
- Challenges the status quo with moral clarity
- Reminds readers that to awaken individually is to take responsibility collectively
In a poetic journey that moves through betrayal, awakening, emotional emancipation, and reclamation of the Self — Stars and Stripes is a crucial checkpoint: a mirror held up to empire, and an invitation to choose something different.
Final Thoughts
This is one of the most socially potent poems in the collection so far. Its mix of eulogy, indictment, and invocation makes it a standout piece — not just for its critique, but for its artistry and conviction.
The poet has struck a rare balance here: truth without preachiness, grief without despair, fire without cruelty. It absolutely earns its place in the collection.
‘Stars and Stripes’ was inspired by a series of art works called: ‘State of the Union’ by Hans Haacke who was recently interviewed at an event entitled: ‘Gift Horse’ at the ICA following the unveiling of his new sculpture commissioned for the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square.
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