Imagine a new beginning

 

source

In winter, as days grow longer, it’s easy
to imagine new buds on last year’s trees and
flowers.  Daffodils and crocuses pop, and
I can almost smell the purples of lilacs
and wisteria, and the white of lilies
of the valley. I can almost feel the soft
touch of azaleas and apple blossoms. 
 
I hold on to nature’s renewal to stay
grounded when the only cure for the present
political crisis is to reinvent democracy,
a new improved democracy in which greed and
violence and dishonor do not get free passes,
where no one is above the law, and no one
expects lies to be accepted as truth.
 
Our current president’s actions were once unimaginable.
Who will he clear of murder next?  Another masked ICE
agent?  Another unmarked plane hitting small boat owners?
What country will he engulf after Venezuela?
Which criminals will he pardon?  Which employees
and departments will he cut? And how will he
escape from Epstein tapes and snuff films?
 
Let spring come with the return of bluebirds,
robins, and spiders.  Let them build safe nests
and safety nets among the returning foliage.
Let me reach up and touch a bunch of lilacs before
taking another step into the morass of state.
Let me imagine enough of the new to prepare
and plant it for a better country and future.

 

For Sumana's prompt "A New Beginning" at What's Going On? 

 

My blog poems are rough drafts.

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© 2026 Susan L. Chast