Tonight's Poet Corner: The Breaking Of The Institution

The Breaking Of The Institution
by Belinda Roddie

Out of his mouth splashed
the litany: Straighten yourself
out, and choose your own destiny. I
do not pledge allegiance to any flag
or symbol. I don't care if you carve
that damn mantra into my back and let
it get infected. I'll die before I utter
the words, "under God."

And yet, there he was, invoking some
sort of power beyond his own mind. Nearby,
pews creaked under listeners' weight. He fetched
a rag from his jacket and wiped his face. Moist
shadows remained on the cloth before he shoved
it back into the fabric abyss it came from.

Trumpets blew outside, and the soldiers
saluted. The mob mentality faded. Each
member of the congregation felt their
fanaticism disintegrate. They embraced
the identity crisis that fell upon them like
rain. They walked out single file, individuals
lost in their own head space, no words
of any prophet or leader stuck within the
hammering canals of their ears.

And out of his mouth leaked liquid
bewilderment, and a sense of isolation
draped over him like a layer of sweat.
He bathed in it, and he was silent.