I Have a Dream: Inaugural Poems for a New Generation

OLIVIA PEREZ All Eyes on Us The anticipation, the stress, the terror.

All eyes on our country.

The country that spiraled out of control.

The country that lost its meaning.

The country that lost its drive.

The country that lost its unity.

Unity, something that our country worked so hard to achieve, now seems unachievable.

Everyone is watching the country tear to shreds.

The division in this country is what will tear it apart but the two different sides will never just figure it out.

This isn’t just about the two parties anymore.

It’s about whether our country has a future.

It’s about whether people in our country can feel safe Every person must take a stand for the fate of our country is right in our hands.

One wrong move and we knock down a building that can’t be rebuilt.

We need to make the right choice or we will live in our guilt.

Anxiety rising in every human being.

The very lives of people are at stake.

Choose to be ignorant or not but one wrong move is all it will take.

The world is on the line.

The world is burning.

All eyes on us, but what will be returning?

Everyone watched the news for hours and hours.

My hands are as sweaty as they get on a sunny day.

I couldn’t bear to wait any longer.

Neither could the world.

We needed an answer.

Days and days pass and still no word.

People taking breaks from their jobs just to check the hourly news.

It seemed like forever.

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