Inauguration Day
Rivers flow
Winds blow
Rain falls
Crows call
Icicles drip
Trains zip
Finches sing
Bells ring
Acorns wait
Enemies hate
Horses graze
Fires blaze
Men plow
Partners vow
Wounded cry
Shoppers buy
Poor dream
Dying scream
Friends care
Demons dare
Women pray
Children play
Sun sets
Strangers met
Babies sleep
Rich keep
Lovers kiss
Clouds drift
And high above the stone
droplets join hands in the cold
And freeze into six points
as they have done for all time
And drift—slow, slow—
pulled by the mighty earth
And descend in a whisper
to the shoulder of a man’s
black coat who says,
at that very moment,
“So help me God.”