20th January

Today saw the first hint of a sunlight beyond the overcast horizon. With grandeur, ceremony, and lavish words, the first seeds of tomorrow were planted; and, through the wide lens of my daughter’s eyes promise was clear. Today, hope glimmered and glistened in the cold morning light. Amid dusting and flurrying snow, amid chaos and tumult, awash over the very grounds just days before strewn with broken glass, broken trust.

To day, to begin anew, and on this cold day in January the promise of brighter and warmer days shimmered and solidified before our very eyes. To morrow, to fix those same eyes on the way ahead, on the work yet to be done, and on the fruits yet to sew. Some seasons are rainier than others, but that doesn’t mean that summer has gone for good.

Today was for heeding and marking words, for taking stock and refilling stores, for long sighs and relieved tears, for making history and turning the page. Today heard words of admittance, of reflection, of solidarity, and of witness. Vindication for the cries unanswered, validation that those same cries were indeed heard and ignored, vilification at long last for the tormentor beset to besiege the darker and less fortunate.

Today bore witness to black and colored excellence, young and old, of history choosing vibrant, bright color for its mural. Today was no mere inauguration, but a declaration. You may hold a seat, but we built the table and you sit at our pleasure. Today marked the first passage in the latest chapter of a story far from finished, deep in the conflict before our rising and sweeping action. The resolution is on our terms.