By: Gary Beck

I think about our wounded land
crushed by overwhelming burdens
and wish that voices from the past
could counsel us in time of need.
But then I wake and remember
our paucity of leadership
and wonder if myths long ago
about the founding fathers
were created to deceive us.

Some yearn for a man on horseback
to bring certainty, banish doubt.
Others wish for a fiery man
to lead them to the barricades.
Those not content with the present
submerge themselves in nostalgia,
or become career criminals.
Many continue to struggle,
hoping for a better future,
much too frightened to accept
diminishing opportunity.