Visions
The Shepherd Book II
A Novel by Jeffrey B. Linn
All rights reserved

Chapter VIII

I turned back to the glowing pane. Through my tears I beheld an image of a stone, her stone, set up like a monument with a standard on a pole waving in the breeze beside it. A voice intoned, "One nation, with freedom for all!" and was followed by an explosion of applause. Through the din, something shifted in my spirit. I sensed that this anthem had been altered, critical elements had been extracted without a seam, and those breathing cadavers on the couch knew not, or cared not, what it had been before. I looked at the boy, so perfect when he had embraced his father, now passively absorbing the opiate of his race.

I collapsed. I pressed my face into the rug and watered its fibers with shuddering sobs.

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