Inauguration Day

Thank you, Mr. President
For having become you, Mr. President.
Our president.
It couldn’t have been easy,
Those many steps you took
Before the short, long walks you took today.

Thank you for understanding that our crisis isn’t
Simply in the interests of The Economy,
Solely about global warming,
Just about healthcare,
Merely about education,
Entirely about US.

Thank you for turning defeat into victory,
For turning victory into success,
For requrining success with honor.

Thank you, Mr. President
For an inaugural address that was everything I have come to expect from you
And more.
Thank you for your writing skill that gave us all those sentences
Full of meaning and promise,
For the meaning and promise you use that skill so well to express,
For giving us more than the sound-bite-sentence
Our broadcasters were waiting for.

I could cry today, Mr. President.
I didn’t cry when you were nominated, although many did.
We had not come far enough.
I didn’t cry when you were elected, although many more did.
Not far enough, still.
Today we have not yet come far enough.
But we will.
Today I cried for happy.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Sherry Spence
January 20, 2009