new day

i
a new day
is dawning
without a rising
sun

ii
humans are machines
with a soul––
animal machines

prone too easily
to forget their sacred
humanity

iii
what can happen?
war can happen

along the borders
& in the heartland
of every state &
country

iv
amerika commands
the most massive
most threatening
weapons in all
history

that haven’t
won or stopped
a war
in decades

v
truth is in a
torture chamber
taking an ugly
beating––

goodness, beauty &
justice are crying
outside––

while
the sermon & the
mount are
crouching in the
shadows with
the commandments,
bill of rights &
the cross

vi
if we needed
an outsider
to rule us––
why not the
dalai lama or
pope francis?

vii
georg wilhelm friedrich hegel
carefully observed
human history &
discerned an
endless pattern
of thesis &
antithesis––

a dream &
its destroying
opposite

viii
one thesis was
shattered with the
coming of
hitler––

a civilization ruptured
at the thrust
of trump
& an untimely
Brexit

ix
on 9/11
amerika shuddered––

on 11/9
amerika collapsed

x
the grand, enlightened
thesis died of
obsolescence
in its sleep––

peace & comfort––
trust & virtue––
honesty & good
faith

banished to quaint
memories

xi
ruffians appear
with clubs & loud
voices––
demanding
supremacy

is this, truly,
to be their
time?

xii
the platonic 3, the
radiant words of many
gods, the teachings of
the wise & the promises of
lovers
have survived
many seasons
of dark

xiii
whatever your
faith or moral
calling––

rise up
to love––
rise up
to care––
rise up
for peace &
calm

if you’ve opened
your arms before––
open them
wider––

hate is a crisis
of lost
love––

a time to
grow understanding
from the
roots––

maybe with
prayer––

mostly with
silence