You Blew Up The Bridges First
Finished writing and posted this poem the other day for the 4th of July, making it fit into the day by the skin of my teeth. It’s a vent piece about the celebration of the day and how it doesn’t slot so neatly into things like before. I’ve already talked plenty about my country this was just another spark to the firewood.
Original post: https://thegoodmanscorner.wordpress.com/2026/07/04/you-blew-up-the-bridges-first/
You Blew Up The Bridges First
** By: A.X. Bueno **
It should be a special, celebratory day
After all it’s a true milestone for America’s birthday
250 years old and what a long, long road to get here
People should be celebrating but many probably won’t
Too exhausted and filled with anger and uncertainty and fear
Some will pretend to wonder how this could be
But I say the path’s pretty clear
All the pettiness, spiteful actions and destructive words
And all of that is putting it very mildly
There aren’t enough angry words to summarize the damage done
But we’re expected to put that aside and celebrate as one
And some of us certainly still will but there’s a dark undercurrent to the fun
For we are deeply divided into those who see the many faults in our country currently
And those who ignore the totality of it all to pretend it’s all going great or at least okay
Personally it feels like it’s getting rougher over here day by day
Wondering what next might break or be stripped away
We’re living in such unpredictable times right now
So don’t expect me to feel too joyous just because it’s America’s very special day
There’s so much that’s been done for which no mere monetary amount can repay
So I won’t just be distracted by the grilling or the fireworks and the festivities today
I will acknowledge all of the messy, brutal, unfair, unpleasant history of the U S of A
For history is complex and not something you can hide from or make go away
And that’s a big part of the current divide today
So before you believe we owe it to you to mend this divide that has occurred
There’s a lot to mend and acknowledge first
And I do hope we can move forward as a nation and have more years to come
Honestly I’d prefer these turbulent times to simply be done
But first I’m waiting for you to acknowledge all that’s been going wrong
After all the bridges are gone
Because somewhere along the way you launched that first bomb