the flag decal

you see your friend Abdul
putting his new American flag
decal onto his kia window.
what's up brother, you yell
across the lawn.
I am a citizen now, he says,
walking over to have me
shake his hand. excellent
you tell him. great. welcome
aboard, you say, patting
him on his drenched wet back
where the sprinkler
soaked him down.
you don't know why
you say stupid things like
that, but you do. it's America
for crying out loud
home of the brave and free,
yet occasionally stupid
speech. so now what? you
say. I am going to change
my name to Francis Scott
Key Abdul Arizza. Hmm,
you say, putting your hand
on your chin. Are you in love
with that name, because
francis for a man is a little
weird in this country.
what about james, as in
james Madison, or james
stewart, or LeBron james.
ahhh. he says. you are
on to something. then you
can call me jimmy, right?
that's right. you are officially
jimmy, citizen of the usa.
You are so wise, you are my
mentor in this country. I am
grateful to have you as a
neighbor. I read your poetry
blog and use it as my guide
to living here.
ummm, well. it's all fiction,
you tell him, but sure,
there's some good advice in
there if you look hard enough.
okay, then fellow citizen
he says. I must go buy hot
dogs now and fireworks for
the big celebration coming up
for our country. right on
jimmy. right on. watch the
sprinkler on your way back
over. oh my, took a little
fall did you. are you okay?