practice optimism

the turnout was remarkable, nearly giddy,
i saw more than a few people crying
happily in a kind of disbelief

masses, crowds and multitudes came together,
in a moment that is by definition,
by description, by design,
out of the ordinary

we found ourselves drawn to the events
that took place this week in washington

at least 2 million,
joined at the hip,
making a cold, wintry pilgrimage,
precisely because the idea that the masses filling
the capital this week in the center of the inaugural
spotlight, says something meaningful,
and it certainly seemed that way

he did not preen or raise his voice,
but appeared entirely conscious of himself

not even the subdued, sombre
and sobering remarks
made by the eloquent orator,
could darken the spirits of the crowd that day,
in the equivalent of the cheap seats,
more than a mile from the stage,
where not even a theoretical,
binocular-enhanced view of the stage was possible,
it seemed to be very clear, it was not the event
but the assembly itself and the promise of hope

power sharing beyond mere
words has a mass appeal,
that's why the sprawling,
crowded scene unfolded on tuesday

faith, the collective turn-out,
at the same time, as a bulwark
against the panicky atmosphere
that has been so pervasive lately,
the masses gathered here seem determined not
only to embrace but actively to practice optimism