Half-Mast

"Mother, why do they use only
Half of the flagpoles?"
"Father, why don't they put the flags
At the top anymore?"h
Shorten the flagpoles, I say!
Mother Earth cries at this waste
Of her ravaged material-
And the people cry
At the reminder that they
Once flew so high and proud.
Shorten the flagpoles, I say.
Let the flags fly once again
Tall!-
On a diminished shaft.