Divide: to cleave asunder.

We are united most by our acceptance of division.

We are a divided nation

divided into geographic parcels

divided into political demographics

divided by inclinations and dislikes

divided by age, race, and gender

sliced by the compass like a pie

our nation is a palace of dualism

rich/poor

in/out

have/not

live/die

here you mete justice

or suffer from its absence

we are a land of hills and valleys

the too content

the permanently disgruntled

the makers of war

those without sanctuary

we want for ourselves

what we deny others

we crave safety, security, surety

oblivious to the precarious nature of the undervalued lives of “others”

we are a nation of “others”

“we the people” are fragmented

like the elephant devoured

after being divided into bite size pieces

we have been eaten by a ravenous government

we have been consumed by corporations

“we” have disappeared into the global crowd

where former potential meets the third world

face to face

at home

where dreams of a future succumb to nightmares

we struggle to live in the shadows

of the death

of ideals

people

morals

our humanity

our greed has a larger shadow than our compassion

our fear outweighs our sense of moral outrage

our silence feeds the wolves

while we live like sheep

our love of shiny things dwarfs

our sense of right and wrong

charity takes a back seat to acquisition

awash in isms do we still stand for anything?