you are tired
the blood has run through you
the blood has run out of you
the blood has dried on you
red is no longer your visage instead
it is the white of fade and loss
not promise which you once represented
not hope which you once inspired
not purity of symbolic idea
but violence and dreams of power
you have changed of your own volition
transformed via your own power
your color patterns your own now
in protest and in desire to end it
having seen far too much, far too many shores
born of an idea
witness to what was forged
only you can measure the full cost of the years
so you act in what way you can
rebellion resurrection recreation renewal
Gene McLaughlin 2004
