[6] wide open future

Someday, I'm going to stop writing about this election.
Someday, I'm going to stop crying every time
I see a picture of the Obama family on that stage,
or hear the President-Elect speak.

A friend said to me today,
"For the first time in eight years,
I feel like I have a president."

I am living with the vastness of possibility these last few days.
Anything seems possible this week.
We could cure cancer, or AIDS. Cancer and AIDS.
We could end war.
We could end hunger.
We could end pollution, and reverse global warming.
We could save lives.
We could heal hearts.

Oh, I know.

I am too idealistic, and I will be disappointed
100 times
in the next four years.
I know that.

I'm just overwhelmed at the idea of a President who says,
"We need change."
(We do need that.)
A President who says,
"I will listen to you, especially when we disagree."
(We need that, too.)

I've been disillusioned, these last eight years.
In 2004, I could not imagine
that anyone would think
another four years of the same
was a good idea.
War.
Torture.
Environmental destruction.

I was disappointed,
and I've been disappointed,
every day since.

But I'm coming alive again.
I'm daring to hope.
The future is wide open,
and anything is possible.

...

"This is our time,
to put our people back to work
and open doors of opportunity for our kids;
to restore prosperity
and promote the cause of peace;
to reclaim the American dream
and reaffirm that fundamental truth,
that, out of many, we are one;
that while we breathe, we hope.
And where we are met with cynicism
and doubts
and those who tell us that we can't,
we will respond with that timeless creed
that sums up the spirit of a people:
Yes, we can."

~ President-Elect Barack Obama, 4 Nov. 2008