I Stand Alone
© 2007 Ruth Cox

I Stand Alone.

I see myself standing in the shadows of the Ohio Buckeye and family tree.

On this night, the eve of my country's anniversary of "The Declaration of Independence," I stood alone.

Under the cover of the thundering red, white and blue display I contemplated what the bell of freedom rang to my forefathers. I contemplated the peal of peace heard by those who cried the "Trail of Tears," contemplated how the toll of liberty echoed throughout plantation fields, reverberant in the pleas of the immigrants who sought harbor under "Lady Liberty."

And as the grand finale unveils its true color over the valley below I am jolted back to reality by a drunken throng shouting "God bless America!" and "Let freedom ring!"

"Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?" With utter contempt I reflect upon the woeful plight of those who are not free, those bound by obligatory restraints imposed upon them by the powers that be. I reflect upon the wretched condition of citizens in my community shackled by the drive to survive.

On this night, the eve of my country's anniversary of "The Declaration of Independence," I stand alone.

I am standing in the shadows of the Ohio Buckeye and family tree.