America Is Dying

 This nation 

That feeds off its fear, not its hopes

That finds reasons to divide not multiply

That communicates so much but says so little

That has found selfishness, not selflessness, a virtue

That chooses not to open its heart but close its borders

That is far too comfortable living with lies rather than searching for truths

That is capable of  great compassion but instead abides its great cruelties 

That for some know no want, but for many know only profound pounding deficits

That treats freedom as a right to exploit, not a gift to be nourished and deeply cherished

That has lost sight of what is just and real and is blinded by charlatans and masquerades

This nation, our nation, is sick 

It is playing out on our televisions, our computers, in our hospitals and on crowded maskless streets, bars and restaurants,

It is in the votes that will not be counted, in the jobs that cannot be filled, in the classrooms that remain silent and vacant

It is living in the homes that have suffered great losses of spirit, of love of hope

It is etched on our faces and embedded in our souls

It is in our prisons and in our prejudices

It is a pandemic, a disease, that is destroying us

America, is dying