For anyone who has been
paying attention
the ditch we find ourselves in
was the obvious destination
all the accumulation
of micro-choices and not choosing
all the heads in the sand
the failure of imagination
And yet in the cycling of everything as it
inevitably does, time moving along
this too shall pass
And the days ahead
will be shaped by what we do
with what was given
with what words are spoken aloud
Do not despair
it is not hopeless
I will admit
it is monstrously dark
but now you can see
all the united pinpoints of light
gathering in the crowded streets

Margaret Dubay Mikus
© 2025

From my poetic journal,
written after the first “No Kings” protest in June.