Clarity

Tornados hit first and
Then the looters
Stealing possibilities
A black man is elected president and
Then the birthers hit
Stealing optimism
You share something real with her on the first date and
Then the kids hit
Stealing everything and anything
Then the night comes and
I want to steal through it but
I stay inside
Only looking at the stars
Hazy in the glare of the street lights and
The neighbor’s landscape path lights
When I take out the garbage or
Retrieve something from the car that I have forgotten and
Then
For a moment I remember
That then has two sides and
We all live in both