State of the Union

State of the Union (ca.1994)

We are too like Ulysses, in decline.
We are become a name – or even less –
A shadow of a name, a misty scent
Of glory days too often perfumed over.
The paunch of our complacency sits well
As we preside over a savage race,
Exacting self-inflicted fines for crimes
Committed more as an accessory
Than as a perpetrator. Yet are we
Betrayers guilty, chasing silver dreams –
Mistrusting eyes which once saw past the sky.

In our bright youth we led like pioneers
Into a new frontier, each mountain pass
Divulging treasures. Onward to a sea
As vast and boundless as our spirit – strong
Enough to tame the wilderness of fear.
Then when we should have sailed upon the tide,
To have momentous current serve our will,
We heeded servile voices, counsel stern:
“Leave off this long, intrepid odyssey.
Take root and flower here beside the sea.”

Relenting, we grew cautious, lost desire,
Denied the motives burning deep inside;
Bequeathed by proud Prometheus, this fire
Provided grit for noble enterprise –
To strive with gods was once within our grasp.
Except… we acquiesced. The compromise
Accepted soon but never justified.
Now we grow fat, luxurious – our eyes
Glassed over turning inward.

We must try
To find a quest as worthy as the first
Of all the exploits listed by our names.
Then hereby make a promise and a pact
Between us and our honor: Once we flew
By instinct pure and simple, so we swear
Upon the moral fiber of our past
We will stay true to principle, in spite
Of obstacles and hardship. We must fight
To lead all those we touch – in quiet ways
And with bombast alike if it need be-
By nurture and example show the world
That we have not completely lost our will.
Rage out against all thunderclaps, despite
Our ineffective blows. No! No! because
Our impotence encumbers and confines.

Not by decree can any living soul
Embark upon a tempest-tortured sea,
Without regard for imminent dismay
Or setback. Yet surrender must not breathe
Within our hearts, when storms will fracture skies
With lightning. What is lightning? But a sign
From all and any gods, what so they be.
A sign that power lives and breathes, as we
Forever may, unless we choose to sleep.
I speak for you, “I choose to seek the dream.”



Obviously, this was originally composed in 1994, two years after the Bill Clinton regime began what appears to have been the final phase of the dissolution of the American heart and spirit. Yes, the process began as early as 1950, with the Korean Conflict, and continued with the embarrassment that was Vietnam. Reagan tried to reverse the course through the 80’s, but even his successor, Bush I, quickly blinked and reverted to the heartless approach that gathered support through the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. I trace the acceptance of our lack of heart to Clinton, who made the stance popular.