The neighbours have a flag –

a Union Jack flying high

waving as the geese find home

in the early hours of a winter morn.

Sometimes, they fly it at half mast –

after London Bridge, after Manchester,

and I feel sad as I watch it wave

at the magpies and wood doves

because if we always chose

to honour those who’ve died in fear –

in a country which no longer sounds

like home in your mouth

then we would always be flying

our flags at half mast –

waving solemnly

as the birds fly past.

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Kristiana Reed is a writer and an English Teacher living in the UK. She is the creator of My Screaming Twenties and sole editor of Free Verse Revolution on WordPress. She  released her debut poetry collection, Between the Trees, in Spring 2019. Her work has been published in several poetry anthologies (Swear To…