What does it mean? What would you think I meant if I told you that I was "raising the black flag?" Some people would say it has something to do with anarchism. Others will tell you that the black flag was a symbol for Israeli soldiers when they wanted to declare that they had received an order that they believed was immoral. Others will say that it is a Muslim symbol or that the black flag is a protest symbol of general pedigree.
But to most people in the Western Hemisphere, black flags are the trademarks of pirates. Each pirate flew his or her own "jolly roger" with symbols of their own making emblazoned on them. To "raise the black flag" was another way of saying that someone was choosing to "turn pirate." It meant the speaker was declaring their intent to a "gentleman (or woman) of fortune"; to join the "sweet trade"; to "go on the account". This is the symbolic meaning this phrase will have here, in this discussion group.
I won't keep you in suspense for long but what we're going to talk about here relates to a line from a very popular pirate movie of recent vintage. One of the central characters is talking about a ship that is important to the plot and to the particular pirate character in question. He says something to the effect that the ship isn't the keel and the sails; that's what a ship needs not what it is. What is a ship, really? It's freedom.
That's what this blog is going to be about - raising your own black flag in a quest for freedom. Read the following and we'll talk more about it next time.
Raising the Black Flag
Golden flames, purple and pink:
The colors of the sunset
Blend and flow among the clouds
As we take in our lines
And slip away from the dock.
And the crew counts the dolphins
As we escape down the channel to the sea.
Home falls away behind us
As we close with the perils
Of a life spent in the sweet trade:
Bad food, worse water, eels in the rigging,
French muskets, Spanish cannon, Dutch rope,
Dying of thirst becalmed in the doldrums
Or drowning when the ship comes apart in a gale.
We measure these dangers against
Phantom coins in untaken treasure chests
Spent on red wine nights in exotic ports
With companions paid to make us feel like gods.
They do their jobs well.
And when we sail we have the wind in our hair
And the horizon to scan for prizes.
A pirate’s life is most likely short,
A pirate’s death is most likely sharp.
But we are not slaves to any wage
And we call no man “sire” or “squire.”
In the end, it’s not the gold that sets our sails;
‘Tis freedom and the fair expectation of a better life
That raises our black flags.
Stephen Sanders
©2008
Originally published in Raising Black Flags: Original Poetry By and About Pirates, ISBN 978-0615255354, Blackbead Books, 2008. This book is available from most major online retailers.
Are you ready to raise your own black flag?
