Fashioned out of stone, symbolically they’re meant to represent “sunlight” –
Because without light, there’s no life.

In 1848, the Masons, to honor Washington, laid the cornerstone
Of the world’s tallest Egyptian style obelisk –
A giant “sunbeam” set down on the broad lawn of the Nation’s Capital
That wasn’t completed until after the Civil War.

Not many people know the Washington Monument symbolizes a “sunbeam.”

Some think it might represent a stone “penis”
Erected in honor of generations of hard-nosed Southern white men,
Others think it might be a stone “compass” used to measure national power.

Perhaps, though, it should have been painted bright yellow
So its original message of light and life would have been clearer.

Or, later on, red
To remind its citizens of all the innocent blood Americans have historically shed.

Or royal purple
To express the awesome power inherent in a long run of Western Empires –
One of which America currently oversees –
But has recently, thanks to the current President, been losing at the speed of light.

Today, America is in danger of becoming increasingly senescent –
Really, just an empire of aging white men –
Whose deepest, longest held desire has been to ignore all the free independent young women
Who still care about this country.