November 4, 2024

Dusk will be descending soon

And I'll no longer be able to espy

My neighbors' yards, let alone

Their many flags and signs.

When waiting in long anticipation,

We recognize and honor an eve,

A night before a day

Which captures all our beliefs.

But as tonight closes around us

With so much on the line

It will be this dusk

That dimness and darkness define.

I stop to enjoy light's final glimmers

Fading as we anxiously await

How each and every one of us

Opts for our collective state.

Will tomorrow's rituals and customs

Get thrown away in anger,

The beauty of our system

Subjugated to distrust of strangers?

From this dusk to the next dusk

We'll see what rises from the ashes.

Will our eyes bless the light from the sky

Or will we shield them from the fiery clashes?

Yes, our nation will receive my prayers,

My neighbors just don't know they're not theirs.