Syndic No. 43 ~ Jennifer Lagier

Weeping in the Promised Land

Weeping in the Promised Land

Inspired by a John Fogerty song

As America tears itself in two,

I find myself terrified,

too dispirited to mingle

despite pandemic’s easing.

An ever-present urge to weep

shadows my every move,

infuses each day with growing depression.

Headlines inflame.

Sanity, empathy, kindness are ebbing.

We’ve reverted to cavemen,

nourish ourselves on soundbites of hatred.

Power is poison.

Racism rises.

Brutality rules.

Integrity branded a devil.

Profiled, scapegoated,

pulled over with little cause,

their homes invaded,

knees on necks,

bullets in flesh,

people cry, “I can’t breathe,”

demand impartial justice.

From shore to shore,

those tasked to protect

turn a blind eye,

choose cruelty, murder.

Resentments fester.

Blood and tears flow.

Our silence equals complicity.