America Is Thinking To Itself Today

I've asked a number of people if they heard Elizabeth Alexander's Inaugural Poem. Most people didn't, and those who did said they weren't impressed. I didn't hear it read, as I was on the road at the time, but when I read it later, I thought "Oh, this is 'I Hear America Singing' by Walt Whitman, warmed over." It took her too long to get warmed up, in my opinion, but I particularly liked the last verse...

In today’s sharp sparkle, this winter air,
any thing can be made, any sentence begun.
On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp,

Readers of Crossword Bebop know that I'm no fan of President Obama. And in my mind, the spirit of possibility in Ms. Alexander's poem that was there on Inauguration Day has been put in a burlap sack and beaten with a baseball bat by the actions and events since then. There's a voice in my head that says "Ok, Mr. Smarty-Pants, if you're going to complain about Elizabeth Alexander's poem, why don't you write a better one?" I make no claim that this is better; I only claim that it is mine. I also want to write a poem that captures my feelings of that day, before I forget them.

America Is Thinking To Itself Today

Today is a cloudy day in America,
A great, cloudy day in America today.

The pathways of past days are crowded,
Crowded as the streets and the Capital Mall,
With reconsideration, reflection, recollection.

America is thinking to itself today.

The slaves stir from slumber and say,
"They really meant it, didn't they?"

The soldiers of Shiloh and Selma,
Of the battles of Birmingham and Bull Run
Believe it was worth it.

"Is His Justice satisfied?"
"Has the Eagle gotten his seat back?"

These anxious questions have a happy answer,

"It's a beautiful day for company to come!"

Tell me of our troubles tomorrow,
I'm in no mood to interrupt
The flowing stream of happy thoughts
America is thinking to itself today.