Inauguration Day, Washington, D.C., 2013

The day was bright, and there was a chill wind blowing,

Not harshly, but not softly,

Chill enough and blowing enough

To have men clutch their scarves around their throats.

There were stands set up specially for viewing

All the celebrities—from the President on down, and

There were parades parading as many sectors of the polity,

As the organizers and planners could have.

Speeches flowed, and many truths were told,

About how the country had been wrested from others

With great sacrifice and bloodshed, and

Many lies were told--

About how great the country was, and

How we were an exception to all previous and present polities,

How we were united by an attachment to freedom, and

All the while there were many in the crowd,

Who wished that inauguration day would last into the morrow,

Because on the morrow the stark fruits of sacrifice and bloodshed

Would have to be faced.

--January 22, 2013