Unfinished

they gather in shadow beyond the monuments 
no longer chiseled names but men again 
haunted by what they see 
each bearing the weight of his vision now worn 
washington stands first 
his hands once steady on the reins of power 
now clenched as he watches 
factions twist the unity he bled for
a farewell ignored
his warning a whisper beneath the roar
jefferson walks among the wires and screens
half proud half ashamed
he sees his words engraved on school walls
but the man he was
and the contradictions he lived
echo louder than his eloquence
freedom for some
chains for others
still not resolved
hamilton paces
delighted by the banks
the market
the surge of commerce
but his eyes narrow
at greed mistaken for greatness
debt wielded like chains
ambition without virtue
madison sits with the constitution open on his lap
his fingers trace the parchment
now frayed by loopholes and lobbying
he wonders if balance was ever possible
if checks and compromises can still hold
when power no longer blushes
adams stares sternly
his pride in law and order tested
he sees opinion swallowed by outrage
civility crushed beneath celebrity
a republic of laws
now hostage to personality
franklin laughs
then falls quiet
no candle to lighten this tangle
his pragmatism sees the flaws
his hope searches for the spark
he finds it not in politics
but in people
small acts of repair
a student questioning
a neighbor feeding another
a scientist unbought
they speak little now
each left to reckon
with what they built
and what it became
not gods
not saints
just men
and the future
still unfinished