Flag III – Provocation is the closing poem in Darren Blanchard’s trilogy. It examines how national flags, whether in Britain, the United States, the Russian Federation or elsewhere, can be transformed from emblems of pride into bold symbols of pressure, provocation, and social fracture — banners that divide rather than unite.
Audio PoemRed, white, and blue,
Or blue, white, and red,
They line the streets
With silent dread.
Fixed on posts, both high and low,
A passive sign with undertow.
No shouted rage, no open fight
Just warning cloth in morning light.
A banner waved, a neighbour’s sneer,
A signal sent: “you’re not welcome here.”
The voice is hushed, the meaning plain,
Division sewn in each refrain.
The flags increase, the pavements strain,
A coded threat on the roads, they claim.
The song of pride turns sour, austere,
A nation’s mask that hides its fear.
Communities fracture, trust decays,
The quiet scorn, the sideways gaze.
Still up they go, each flag unfurled,
A brittle shield against the world.
Wave the cross in muted spite,
Patriotic blue in creeping night.
Stand apart where the banners spread,
A fractured home, draped in red.
Audio – Flag III (Provocation)
Return to the Beginning of the Poem
Go to the poem: “Flag (Celebration)“
Go to the poem: “Flag II (Aggression)“
Go to the following poem in the collection: “Lentil Soup & Lemon“