The day after Biden’s president-elect speech
a certain tension, held unknowingly,
in my body, had relaxed.
The effort of plugging a hole
in the dike was now supported,
no, confirmed, by a leader
with an abiding belief,
(belief lifts one foot, one idea,Â
toward that thing worth
getting up for),Â
the motive and the mortar neededÂ
to rebuild, to reimagine,Â
with hands and heart,Â
with a family, and a vice-president,
all there to repair, to heal.
Â
And I knew the campaign had been a race
to the starting line.
Now our hands are full again
to initiate the changes,
never again to thinkÂ
government could accomplish
what I was unwilling to nourish.
Â
This country, split open
like ripe fruit, seeds waiting
to be planted, to be wet by our sweat.
Never before had I understood
a government by the people,Â
by our efforts to grow citiesÂ
where people can walk or bikeÂ
on shaded lanes, along rivers restored
where we can elaborate ourselves
into collaborations, birthingÂ
new solutions, defying hatred,
nourishing and protectingÂ
all things wild and true.
