July fourth, 1976,
New York Harbor,
A celebration,
Two hundred years
Of freedom
And success.
A naval review of
A great power,
Ships from dozens
Of nations,
Help it
Bask in the
Reflection of its
Own glory.
One might keep
In mind,
The hazards of
Vertigo.
From great heights,
Comes great acceleration.
The laws of physics
Will not be repealed.
Thirty-five years thence,
So much energy spent,
And now other rules
May not be repealed.
A literal accounting
Comes due,
In a time of self denial.
The nation that once
Put the world
On its shoulders,
Can't believe
That it has
Limits.
The nation of great
Political thinkers,
Mistakes what it wants,
For what it was.
The center cannot hold
If it is not there,
And the center,
Is no longer
Even acknowledged.
Its existence,
Is recalled
With contempt.
The true state
Of a system,
Can never be
Perceived,
From within,
And accordingly,
We are never enabled
To perceive
Our arrival,
Until
It has occurred.
This is never
So true,
As for the end,
Wherever it may be.
“May the present occasion
Excite our most serious thoughts.”
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