TAKING ONE FOR THE TEAM

by Laurie Kuntz 

As Air Force Maj. Jason Watson ascended the Capitol steps last week wearing his military uniform and armed with one protest sign, he knew the risks and was prepared for the consequences, no matter how severe. —Military Times, July 9, 2026

Under July's brazen sun,

independently standing on Capitol steps

one would expect this uniformed man to be waving a flag

instead of 3 words etched on cardboard -- 

The truths that weave a country's fabric

stipulate the deeper cut of accusation

and the absence of a moral center.

A country watches a man in medaled attire

being cuffed and  led away 

surrounded by the silence of the timid 

too afraid to speak:

Impeach

Convict

Remove.

Laurie Kuntz is a four-time Pushcart Prize nominee and two-time Best of the Net Nominee. In 2024, she won a Pushcart Prize. Her 8th poetry book Shelter In Place is published by Shanti Arts Press. She holds an MFA in poetry from Vermont College. Her work has been published in Gyroscope Review, Roanoke Review, Third Wednesday, One Art, Sheila Na Gig, SWWIM, and other journals and anthologies. Her themes stem from working with Southeast Asian refugees, living as an expatriate in Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Brazil, and raising a husband and son.

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