Beach Bigots Poem by L MILTON HANKINS

Sable palms stood like soldiers at parade rest
between dunes and cottage ghost white
against emerald waves rolling
on the white sand beach of Panama City.

Tribal bigots planted Old Glory at water's edge,
staking claim to the public beach for their kind
saying without a word, 'If you are not like us
you are not welcome; you do not belong.
This is the new America! This is our land! '

Not the silent majority, but a vocal minority
of white nationalists who clamor incessantly
about patriotism, but who deny freedom to all
who would come to our shores seeking a better life,
a new world of opportunity and hope,
unburdened by radicalization, fanaticism and fear.

Not too long ago, a frail little woman
stood her ground against an entrenched phalanx
of white supremacists who burned crosses,
who claimed they were patriots.
She started Old Glory waving proudly
toward a new era of freedom—

It is yet to come.