A clarification
When we called for a fresh start
we did not mean rows of fresh graves,
a fresh breeze, white as a steel knife,
slicing across American landscapes.
We did not call for a second Civil War
new lines through the killing desert.
We don't need to be drilled on these.
Most of us have seen with our eyes,
heard the pleas from our neighbors.
This was not the direction in which to lurch,
the exciting new challenge for our children.