January 21, 2021
Is anything different?
I walk in the warm afternoon light
A lone trumpet sings
On steps where the graffiti has changed
I don’t like the difference
I am not at ease with
The ephemera of the radical
Stories that aren’t mine to hold
For so long we worked
To remove the tumor
Only to see in what remains
A cancer spread
In a million little ways
Utterly inoperable
Perhaps the whole body can renew itself
If we live that long
The trumpet hits some off notes
But the rhythm stays true
I smile into the sun glare
And dance to it a bit
Notice the signs of spring
In this January ground
Lenten rose blooming
Crocuses pushing through
We forced this spring
We pounded on the glacier
Until it exploded
Into so many shards
Blood on the steps
That brought us here
And now we all live with
What we’ve done
Now we must reckon
Try to recreate
With what remains
Find the rhythm in
This broken melody of America
