Triumphant Losses

Cooped up, tied down
About forgotten.
Shared sentiments severed
By miles and miles of dust and roads.
 
Those paths less traveled
About forgotten.
 
Crumbling infrastructure--
Stranding each on opposite sides
So close yet so far
What can be done to fill this divide?
 
False promises, cheats, and lies
Triumphant losses suffered on both sides.
Could we, instead, throw out a line—?
 
Building bridges to help walk the line
The keystone being an open mind.
Have faith and pray, do not lose hope today
For tomorrow will be another difficult day.
 
The challenging task is yet to come:
Listen carefully before you are done;
Listen carefully to everyone;
Listen carefully for what is to come
 
Carefully listen as we may not see
Not zi, na see, Nazi…
 
Fear leads to anger.
Anger leads to hate.
Hate leads to suffering.
 
Here we are suffering.
Here we are in pain.
Hear, we all need change
 
Settling for pennies and dimes,
Poisoning us is part of an elaborate design.
 
Let us educate and not hate.
 
Start by addressing a rural urban divide:
Without both, our nation will not survive.
United we stand, divided we fall
 
Yet, we fear one another—like a cancer
Killing our nation from the inside out
Here we are on the cusp of collapse.
 
The only thing we have to fear is fear itself
 
Some fear for their livelihood—others fear for their life.
Their liberty and lives have been stripped, whipped…
Woefully ill-equipped
Yet still they rise.
 
I am amazed by you and your resilient sides
America, vow to give faith a fighting chance
And join me in our healing dance.
 
We could rewrite our wrongs seeing
Our left and our right to find what was
Left behind, bringing it all into the light
Doing what is right.
 
What is right is not always popular and
What is popular is not always right.
 
So choose your battles wisely
Be prepared to reap what you sow
One never knows how the wind may blow
 
Hurt no one, so that no one hurts you and do not
Commit injustices against yourself.
It is in our hearts and in our hands,
Reckon awakening complacent heads?
 
I know somewhere in between a heart skipped a beat,
Shh, listen carefully, can’t you see? It’s not just black and blue--
If we just open old wounds, our hearts, and our minds, only then
Can we get to the heart of the matter
 
Break. these. mental. chains.
 
Here is a thought—why not use our brains.
We keep thinking that we are ahead of the game…
Eventually the curtain will close, it was just an act
And all for show, our prayers and players
 
Could simply be played.
So remember we
 
Are judged by the content of our character:
Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight,
 
This could be solved within a minute.
Within a heartbeat, if all would listen
Then maybe, just maybe a renascent could rise
A new birth of freedom
 
A government of the people
By the people for the people
Could be for all the people.