Ashes to Ashes Dust to Dust

There are no words

There are no colors

My page is blank

My canvas has no palette

When they go low,

we go high – Michelle said.

How? Please tell us how

to move forward, to ascend

Most hands are tied behind their back

Most lips are stitched and zipped

We feel shackles in our ankles

We see menacing noose close to our necks

What is this place

of disarray, divide, disunity?

Where is this era

of anger, restlessness, vanity?

Helpless we feel as citizens

Restless we feel as humans

Worthless we feel as men and women

Hopeless I feel as an American!

These are uncertain times

Of democracy diminished

Of truths alternative

Our liberties in ashes

Phoenix -

We are in desperation

as we hang in suspension

Anxiously, we await your resurrection!