POEM: BRIDGES OF RESILIENCE

"America died last night," some voices declare,
"Freedom is lost; despair fills the air."
They speak with sorrow, disbelief, and with dread,
"Our hope is shattered, the nation misled."

"If you supported him, don't speak to me again,"
Another voice cries, enraged and raw with disdain.
"I can't bear this darkness, this shadow, this pain,"
"Everything we cherished... it has died in vain."

Then, like a sunrise breaking through night,
Come voices of joy, they're bold and bright:
"Thank you, Lord! Today brings release,"
"A new dawn for freedom, a season of peace!"

With flags in the air and hearts lifted high,
They see a fresh future, the clouds rolling by.
"It's a great day for America, with dreams taking wing,"
"We're moving forward, embracing what hope can bring."
'Unburdened by what has been,' they cheer with delight,
Believing the future will bring new dreams to light.

And amidst this clamor, a voice, steady and clear,
Resolves to be heard, to bring others near:
"I hear your fears, your joy, your pain,
But let's not tear down what we've built through unhealthy disdain."

"Let's keep our heads clear, let's persevere,
Disagree if we must, but hold each other dear.
Our nation is more than one man or creed—
It's woven by hands that labor, that bleed,
Hands that hold dreams, that nurture each seed,
Hands that build bridges when hatred misleads."

"But how can you stay so measured and calm?"
Cries the voice caught in sorrow's balm.
"I can't forget what this means, that which we lost."
"How do we pay this unbearable cost?"

The reasoned voice answers, strong yet kind,
"I'm not blind to flaws, nor deaf, nor resigned.
But anger alone won't make us whole,
Hope and resilience must play their role.
Seeing the problems puts us in place,
To work toward progress with courage and grace."

"Yes, leaders fall short, they stumble, they fail,
Yet bitterness won't lift us; it only builds a jail.
Division has festered, and hatred has grown—
It's time to heal and reclaim what we could own."

"But the wounds run deep, the divide feels wide,"
Whispers the voice, with hurt in its stride.
"How can I forgive, when I feel so betrayed,
When the dreams I had seem to fade?"

"Release your grip on darkness and fear,
Let go of the bitterness keeping you here.
Disagreement doesn't mean severing ties—
Our strength lies in unity, not in goodbyes."

Then, a softer voice, in gentle refrain,
Speaks not of triumph, nor victory's gain.
But offers a quiet, hopeful embrace,
An invitation to peace, to healing, to grace:
To find understanding where there is divide,
And nurture the hope that still flickers inside.

"Perhaps, just perhaps, there's more than you see,
A glimpse of good that someday might be.
Maybe a chance for health to restore,
For prosperity, peace, for less and not more—"

"No more anger, no more grief, no more lines in the sand—
Let's pray for unity across this land.
That perhaps what seventy million have dared to believe,
Might yet bring a goodness, for all to receive.
Perhaps there's a light, a hope we can share,
A chance for our country to heal, to repair."

"Perhaps, as we wait, we could start with a prayer,
That hope finds a place beyond despair.
Not in defeat, nor in concession,
Nor even in a party and blind faith's impression,
But in a nation's quiet, faithful progression."

For healing doesn't mean just blind agreement,
But a quiet resolve, a shared commitment,
To lift each other, to mend, to repair,
To find common ground in the love that we bear.

So to those who feel broken, lost, and alone,
And those who rejoice in the seeds that they've sown,
Remember, together, we rise and we fall,
Bound by one nation, by liberty for all.

In the end, it's not hate that strengthens our land,
But hands reaching out, hearts making a stand.
Through courage, respect, and resilience we strive,
To hold fast to a country where all can thrive.

And from each voice—of hope, of courage, of reason—
Comes a call to rise, to heal in this season:
"Together we'll soar, with faith as our guide,
With kindness and love as our beacon and God at our side.
Hope for a future reborn, where sorrows can cease,
Where justice and mercy give rise to true peace."

Background to the Poem

I read every single statement made by any of my thousands of Facebook friends (thanks to Facebook in chronological order). Thought through them, copied dozens of them, and put them into AI. Had discussions. The thoughts were exuberant, pained, often funny, and sometimes very troubling. Many were very, very healing too.

I decided what I could offer was a poem. So, I decided it could be a conversation of almost four voices from what I gathered in the posts. The pained and hate-filled (there were some doozies), the exuberant (tons of those), the ones that want to heal (many amazing messages of healing from lots of friends on every side), and another voice of hope that I hope kind of reflects mine.

I spent a ton of time editing stanzas with and without AI help. It's long, but it's a bit for me as well, and I wanted it like I like my podcasts—long and nuanced.

It's a way to document the day, I suppose.
I then created like 30 images on midjourney and chose a few

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