By Roger Straw, June 24, 2022

The nation I used to love
Has gone mad.
I’m living in a deadly spin,
A near-divorce state,
A whirlpool of Trumpian loathing
And marching orders of Supremes
That would take us back to the glory days
Of patriarchal authority
And martial powers
Of guns and guns and guns…
And babies blooming unchecked
In every womb.

The nation I used to love
Is broken.
And my love is lost for now.
Divorce impossible,
I’m trapped in a promise
Of decades of division,
Litigation that has an arc
That bends not toward justice
But is crushed or nearly so
Under the weight of Justices
Of right –
Of right and fight and loathsome might.

The nation I used to love
Is a memory
Held dear
Kept safe
For a century perhaps
A future for now unknown
And yet to come?
Yet to come.