As I look beyond my window,
The stars set the sky aglow;
Yet, on earth, life seems quite solemn,
Only sadness seems to grow.
Fires raging, deltas sinking,
Record snows and record floods,
People driving after drinking
Far too many rounds of suds.

Children injured; children perished
When someone abused a gun.
Times once sacred; times once cherished
Fading faster than the sun.
Toxins in our air and water,
Hazards to our sea and sky,
Livestock we are forced to slaughter,
Due to a bad food supply.

Wars are rampant, protests plenty,
Yet, our troops remain on guard,
Breaking news, at ten and twenty –
A child taken from her yard.
What has happened to our culture;
Where, oh, where did things go wrong?
Have we become savage vultures,
Or been this way, all along?

Maybe I was raised too rural
Too naive and blind to see,
That graffiti-ridden murals
Exist beyond MTV.
But, I can recall a moment
Not as long as it may seem,
When our country proudly welcomed
Every soul who dared to dream.

I realize the times are changing
More than I prefer to think.
The world is still rearranging
Much faster than I can blink.
Still, I hope when all’s forgotten
And these days have come to pass,
We can stroll through fields of cotton
With our heroes, dressed in brass.

© 2007 – Jill Eisnaugle’s Poetry Collection