Flagpole (Extended Version) Poem by C Jay Caputo

I have a vice,
Do we not all?
It holds me down
It holds me back
It's wires attached to struts drilled by nails through a hole that leads its way through Earth
Break loose of your bondage and be set free!
They say…
But they know not what holds me down,
These wires provide power
Why would I cut them?
To be free?
-To Be Free! -
They say
To be free? But I need power, constantly, a spark to ignite the flame, the jolt that kicks my heart,
I'm nothing without it.
These struts, these struts that hold me up are new and keep me stable
-Break Your Struts! -
Break my struts?
How could I?
I'd simply fall the ground: crack, shatter, wallow and capitulate.
-Than Pull Your Nails! -
-But how? But why?
They are but nails with which I aimed to pin none but myself.
-Snap Them, they only dig deeper.-
They say-
I know, I tell them I know
- They will break at some point. -
They say
But the nails wont, with no fault evident they have yet to weaken
The contrary, they strengthen
-You Dont Need Them, -
says my doubts, how persistent they can be.
But I do, they hold me grounded in place and safe from rigorous storms.
They keep me calm and subtle though rough winds.
Break free they say?
And be exposed, alone, broken, fearful, cold, uncertain, woeful, defeated, lethargic and unstable?
No,
I'll take the nails,
I'll take the struts,
I'll take the wires,
They give me all I need
All I want and could imagine
They give me security
I'm content with what I have to hold up.
And embrace with great acceptance what holds me up,
So as long as the nails rust, but never relinquish grasp of my base,
The wires fray but never seize conduction
The struts bend and sway but don't snap
I'll stay in place
Only because you hold me there