Growing from 2020

November 3rd, 2020.
May this election
bring us hope.

May this election
bring us peace.

May this election
bring us change,
whatever form it takes –

lift up the oppressed,
the *tired, the poor,
the huddled masses yearning to breathe free –

He could not breathe.
They cannot breathe,
stolen from this world
and scattered across the sky.

They cannot breathe,
gasping from a merciless virus,
saying goodbye to those they love
on a tablet screen.

May this election
protect our
life
liberty
and
pursuit of happiness,
and those
certain inalienable rights –

May we rise as one
to overcome adversity.

*reference to Emma Lazarus' "The New Colossus"