With apologies to W.H. Auden …





( for W.H. Auden )




tomorrow for the grueling work to begin,


the rebuilding of trust,


the sweat and the toil.



tomorrow for reflection,


the search for a new beginning, the hard tasks that lie in wait.



tomorrow for the farmers to till the land,


for the teachers to share free knowledge to all.



tomorrow for the effort,

to strive to build a new nation, to shake off the weight and the burdens of the past.


tomorrow for all of that …


but today,


today,


the gleeful, joyous, teary-eyed celebration of freedom …