A poem by Phil Van Treuren
Today, at last, I escape your grasp—
Or rather, I choose to remove you . . .
For within me were your hazards laid,
Dressed up as rightness and virtue.
I’ll always love your brightest facets—
Sparks that forged more noble worlds;
But I refuse to greet my countrymen
With hatred’s flag unfurled.
Your beauty rests in dialogue,
Consensus, and debate;
In viewing rivals as opponents—
Not mere enemies to hate.
You augment both the greatest
And the worst things in mankind;
Raised the pillars of democracy—
Groomed corruption, slander, guile.
You birthed Cato, Lincoln, Churchill—
So, too, men of villainy, and worse;
Those Catalines, Tweeds, and Stalins
Who litter history’s long course.
And though each generation
Thinks you’re some new lucid thing,
In truth, your color flared the same
When Romulus was king.
All duties will I answer still
To nation and neighborhood,
And muster for community
What bolsters common good.
But no more will your clout compel
My opinion on each event;
No longer will my faith be bound
By “with me” and “against.”