Can you hear this?

There is so much noise 

in the room

you must yes you truly must 

go outside into the twilight

there where light is fading

there where the loud voices are shut away

there you will hear what is going on 

you will hear weeping

voices of mothers whose children 

are dying

dying because promised help is not coming 

this is all you can hear 

Go on up the hill

where you hear the lamenting

voice of the saxophone 

losses lining the horizon 

Do you dimly see

birds of prey 

sharpening their beaks

as their talons sink into what was once ours

& carry it off beyond our horizons

Do you think this is a prelude to greatness? 

Do you think help is on the way 

like those mothers did?

Are you ready for the storm or do you think you are the storm?

The sky is not falling

the earth is not opening to swallow you 

it is only the end of the chapter 

the question you must ask

No you really must ask

What is the name of the chapter? 

How many episodes are there? 

Is this really the end of the United States? 

And when will we know? 

Is it too late? 

The plaintive saxophone 

there on your sidewalk 

at dusk

asks the question 

Is it too late?