And What of Today?

How does one tell what kind of day it is? How will

One know a good day from the bad? Has Christmas

Passed recently or was it only in dreaming that you

Thought it had? Is it too early after awakening to

Conceptualize happy or sad? Something tells you

That the brain is ever vigil with its eyes ever open

Wide. Is it any wonder that you never really feel

Fully rested? You have the distinct impression that

Today, this very day, will be one of those filled with

Barbed-wire riddles for which there are no tolerable

Answers. In checking the calendar it’s clear you are

A month into the new year. And, by chance, should

The newly elected President embrace something

Humanely inspirational in one of his interviews, your

Cynical doubting and uneasiness could possibly be

Allayed. But, should he continue to hammer home

The building of a wall and banning the immigration

Of Muslim refugees, you’ll know that Christmas has

long since passed. And today, alongside your fellow

Countrymen, you have been forcibly made to bathe

In a corrosive communal shower of shame.

Chris Hanch 1-26-17