Some say this moment in history reflects our darkness, our ugliness, our racism, our sexism, our nationalism, our slavery, our genocide, our underbelly, our subconscious, our primacy, our tribalism, our superstitions, our suspicion, our paternalism, our jealousy, our hypocrisy, our blindness.

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

Exposes our 9 mm semiautomatics, our Columbines, our Sandy Hooks, our mental illnesses, our addictions, our dysfunctions, our Playboy bunnies, our Hugh Hefners, our silicone breasts, our cheek implants, our spray tans, our raging id, our silver platter, our embezzled inheritance.

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Lights our darker angels, our consumerism, our prosperity gospel, our health and wealth, our religious shallowness, our faithlessness, our mass consumption, our foreign wars, our prisons, our solitary confinements, our death penalty, our torture, our stop and frisk, our racial profiling.

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

Divulges our war on drugs, our media frenzy, our pussy grabbing, our fool’s errand, our competition, our gluttony, our internment camps, our 1%, our brazen bulls, our genetically modified, our collective debt, our price gouging, our Wall Street speculators, our laziness.

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Uncovers our homicides, our teenage suicides, our opiates, our bottom-shelf wines, our two car garages, our houses on a hill, our disposable razors, our distractions, our celebrity haze, our internet clicks, our government surveillance, our unmanned drones, our military complex.

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Flaunts our plastic-filled landfills, our Pledge of Allegiance, our designer shoes, our spoiled children, our gold-plated toilets, our video games, our shopping malls, our lies, our vaping coal, our neglected solar power, our sinking coastal towns, our broken highways, our gilded towers.

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Some say this is God’s victory, for unborn babies, for the righteous, for the chosen, for the blessed, for the repentant, for the real (the true) Christians, for the white supremacists, for traditional family values, for the institution of holy matrimony, for the churches, for Jesus.

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

Some say we’ve forgotten to laugh (Rule 62), forgotten the Matrix (red pill or blue), forgotten our projections, our impermanence, our dreams and our dreaming, forgotten our common humanity, our brotherhood, our love, our kindness, our innocence, our mutual dependence.

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

Some say this is payback for our political correctness, our welfare state, our progressives, our liberals, our bleeding hearts, our abortions, our gay marriages, our secularism, our culture of death, our schools without prayer, our all-inclusiveness. The Buddha said seek the Middle Way. 

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she

Some say this is just deserts for our war on Christmas, our elitists, our scientists, our artists, our philosophers, our college-educated, our feminism, our emasculation, our global warming, our androgyny. Mahatma Gandhi said an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,

Some say this is our wake-up call, our Zen slap, our incoming karma, our cause and effect, our bottoming out, our drunken stupor, our miscreation, our moral lesson, our dying empire, our corruption, our insanity, our greed, our failing. Jesus said love God and love your neighbor.

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

Some say we’ve been here before (Caligula & Nixon), get on your knees and pray, rise up and fight, burn the flag, turn a blind eye, build a wall, duck and cover, sign petitions, speak up, stay vigilant, don’t fall asleep again in the earthly garden. Lord Krishna said God is All in All.

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Some say find the beauty, find the joy, return to the breath, return to the present, don’t lose hope (we’re united), stay the course, find the hand of one you love, find the hand of your enemy. Saint Augustine said love and do what you will. Let me repeat, America: Love and do what you will.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”