Split in two
With the departure of truth
How can truth die
How can truth lie
By the drip, drip, drip
Of continuous slip
From the faucet of hate
And the lack of debate
How can we fail
Why do we flail
With the lack of concern
Of what we all learn
From our partisan news
Heart’s stone it hews
What is the cure
To return to what is pure
When truth takes its place
With the return of grace
Crack the stone inside
Let simple truth abide
Can we get back
To the future we lack
Only time will tell
If freedom’s bell
Will ring again
We the people can win
Society soothe
With a return to truth

When belief overtakes knowledge
And dogma overshadows facts
Love succumbs to hate
The other becomes the enemy
Visible and invisible walls are built
Every structure a testament
To how creeds separate
Gathering around belief
In what can never be known
The mythical idea
Conjured to fill the gaps
Between everything that is
And what will still be discovered
Only by returning to knowledge
And embracing the unknown
Like an old friend you haven’t met
Can we erase the boundaries of love
And expand into the wonder

Wounded

And there is no healing on the horizon
Normalcy is a state that can’t be found
Searching, seeking

Lost

And adrift with no peace within reach
Comfort is an emotion that is elusive
Wandering, wondering

Afraid

And alone with no anchor to hold fast
Strength comes in fleeting moments
Running, racing

Know

And accept wounds as painfully present
A new normal to be faithfully charted
Stopping, starting

Believe

And open fully to an unexplored space
Wrap warmly in a blanket of family
Embracing, entering

Hope

And trust that somewhere in the darkness
A lightness will come to a weary soul
Lifting, loving

Not random
But purposeful
This isn’t an accident
It’s a mindset

Not for gain
But being better
This isn’t self help
It’s a way of life

Not a goal
But a path
This isn’t for show
It’s who you are

In opening a door
And waiting in peace
At giving grace
And showing patience
Of self control
And self sacrifice
For humble winning
And affable losing
To live with intent
And die with enough

Acts of Kindness
Gives meaning
Make us whole
Being kind is life

We’ve got this all wrong

Politics is a competition
To be won or lost
The victor, the vanquished
The winner, the loser

The focus is on the wrong people

Instead of choosing the best
We bet with our votes
On unbending ideologies
And ancient dogma

The noise of marketing is deafening

We should be focused us
We the people
A perfect union
Of all of us

Different, but united in peace

There is no peace
When we’re driven to win
Regardless of the cost
A union divided is weak

Where is the common ground?

Life versus choice on the right
Poor versus rich on the left
Religious morality on the right
Liberal equality on the left

A chasm in-between

A mother of six, no money for seven
The seventh born in the wrong zip code
A belief system outdated and tired
The huddling masses decrying difference

There are no absolutes beyond

Justice
Truth
Mercy
Love

Ignoring these, the chasm grows