Election '24

 

A Faustian Gamble

the day of the election:

we are at a cusp,

and I hope that enough citizens of this country

will choose a leader who leads us to a tomorrow

worth waking up for,

rather than a malignancy on the body politic,

I wore a black armband the day after Reagan was elected,

I marked his racist tendencies,

his assault on higher education

and on our equalizing tax structure,

let alone the big stick of his military passion,

yet he also was rational

and bought into the traditions of the republic,

I fear the scorched earth potential of our decisions today,

a day later,

and I am shocked at how many of my fellow citizens

voted for a person in steep cognitive decline,

circling the wagons against the other,

luxuriating in the triumph of their feelings,

the South did rise again,

that generations long grievance against the North,

against cities, against the "holier than thou" attitudes

they felt slapping them in the face,

it is as if in revenge for the future rushing at us,

a grasping at a past that was only "great" for some,

I do not like learning answers

as to why and how the Roman Empire went away,

much of our country is still vibrant 

and ready for a transcendent tomorrow,

far too many of us voted 

to return to a past that really never was,

I fear for how much will be lost in this Faustian gamble.

by Henry H. Walker

November  5-6, ‘24