A New National Anthem

Although the words “The Star-Spangled Banner” don’t appear explicitly in “A New National Anthem,” the song and the flag are both of central importance. The speaker capitalizes the words “National / Anthem” (Lines 1-2) to assure the reader that they are talking about the official song by Francis Scott Key, along with direct quotes from the first stanza in Lines 3-4 and the third stanza in Line 12.

In the first half of the poem, the song represents everything the speaker doesn’t like about ordinary American identity. She dislikes the constant presence of war and violence both in the song and in real life. She dislikes the ritual of performing the song that has rendered it meaningless, merely a “call / to the field” (Lines 8-9). People ignore the disturbing true meaning that’s actually in the song “as we blindly / sing the high notes” (Lines 15-16). The speaker disavows the song and the flag that represent war, ignorance, and empty rituals. In the second half of the poem, the speaker expresses fondness for a song and flag that could mean healing and unity. The flag she likes best is one that gives hope to someone who has lost everything. She likes a flag that doesn’t demand to be present just for the sake of being there, but can be folded “so perfectly / you can keep it until it’s needed” (Lines 22-23).