The fatal flaw is clear to those who look
(But o, we did not wish to look!):
To proclaim one thing but do another,
To promise riches and then plunder
The promise with a smile and a look
That said: fear not, for you may slumber
As we lynch and maim your forsaken brother.

We cannot know what comes tomorrow
(But o, we knew, we knew, we must’ve known!),
We who feel that peace can follow war,
Who tortured, interned, enslaved, yet swore
That history would bend, would soon
Deliver justice upon our broken shore:
Who recalls what it is we’re fighting for?

And now the silent bell does ring
(But o, when was it silent, when did it not ring?)
To call on us to rise up or to die;
Though we shop and shop, we cannot buy
Enough to fill our empty, bleeding souls:
Constitutions alone shall ne’er injustice deny—
When all is at stake, only those who act survive.

Written on Thursday, November 10th 2016 in the wake of the election of a Fascist as President of the United States of America