I don't think like you,
and you don't think like me.
There will always be times
when we disagree.

But something is missing
that once formed a foundation
for civil debate
and sound conversation.

We have lost the ability
to show respect
for opposing opinions
and diverse dialect.

It's hard to fathom,
difficult to construe
how severely one nation
could be broken in two.

Unable to heal
each on their own --
a fractured nation
like a fractured bone

must join together
unite and align,
to reach what is "ours"
not yours, and not mine.

All that has happened
may seem unbearable,
but we must repair
what is still repairable.

By taking a moment
to reflect and to pause,
to focus on our strengths
instead of our flaws.

To calm the rhetoric,
put down our defenses,
seek common ground
and come to our senses.

Minutes in anger
are minutes we miss.
We get only one life;
let's not spend it like this.

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© Linda Ellis. All rights reserved.