in my youth,
America was the
beginning & the end
of wonder.
love of country
came, natural &
easy.
the tallest buildings
in the world––
jet planes, long distance
telephones, tv’s, wide
boulevards of shimmering
glass & roads
meandering everywhere,
free & towards the
wilderness.
& for me there was
the holy sacrament of
science & the grail of
knowledge.
above all, we
could trust & work
together as we
learned to practice
the gospel of
brotherhood.
but, we
abandoned wonder
for the quick & quicker
buck––
the megalomania of
power––
the suffocating addiction of
greed––
& the god-forsaken
ego.
we fell so
fast that we didn’t
even notice the
utmost good faith
we left totally
behind.