Emily Vieweg
Pardon My Voice
I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT
I want to fight.
I want to fight—for freedom—for myself.
What god I pray to
What higher power is to me
When life begins for me
Who judges me
Who loves me
Who wants to be
FREE.
Until the sun comes up on-a
Wash-ing-ton and nowhere else
I say what I should and should not…
I say what I should and should not…
Believe about Iraq
Believe about Iran
Believe about Afghanistan
Believe about being free.
I fight for the right to choose—what you think is best for you
So
You can fight for the right to choose—what I think is best for me.
Who wants to be free?
Though we think it’s out of our meager hands
Our votes do count.
I said our votes DO count.
HA!
Our votes are counted by those that wish
to deploy our troops to “assist relations”
to instruct the beliefs of our creations
to misunderstand the nurturing of other nations.
WHO WANTS TO BE FREE?!
Mr. Bill of Rights
Freedom of Speech
Mr. Bill of Rights
Freedom of Press
Freedom of Religion
Hail Allah
Hail Brahman
Hail Buddha
Hail Zeus
Hail Athena, Poseidon, Aphrodite
Hail Christ, Jehovah, Yahweh!
Mr. Bill of Rights.
I say FREEDOM!
What god I pray to
What higher power is to me
When life begins for me
Who judges me
Who loves me
Who wants to be—
WHO WANTS TO BE FREE!
Emily Vieweg is a poet and educator originally from St. Louis, Missouri. Her work has been published in Foliate Oak, The Voices Project, Red Weather Literary Magazine, Soundings Review, Art Young’s Good Morning and more. Emily’s debut chapbook, Look Where She Points, is forthcoming from Plan B Press. She lives in Fargo, North Dakota with her two children.