On the Inauguration

Hope Comes

The animal that we are,
wild,
free,
has struggled in captivity.

This nation, proud bird,
once soaring,
Has been shackled,
fed scraps of deceit.
Its young have been drugged,
and have forgotten the lessons of flight.

But there comes a vision
On the horizon still,
Reminding us that life can be renewed.

There is a sense of kindness in the air,
Just that moves us.
Just kindness.
We are so starved.

And the heads of captives
lift from their chains
Opening eyes weary with tears,
Opening eyes blinded by lies.

It is not one man that has created this hope.
It is the longing of nations.
It is the cry of the captive,
The hunger of the vanquished,
The suffering of the war torn.

The world yearns for
Something true
Something right
Something decent.

This man comes,
Then a woman, or a child.
Then a neighborhood,
Then a town.
Then all of us.

We rise up, one weary day,
And imagine what was impossible.
We rise up and decide what enough is.

We find a man to carry our dream
We elect him.
And we set him about his work.

And all over the world,
heads lift up.