Inaugural Directive

Yahia Lababidi

January 10, 2021

Do not dare celebrate

what is hardly victory―

note Damocles’ sword, overhead

Now, is time for modesty

slender expectations

humble utterances

No more talk of audacity

whether of hope or change

after the promises betrayed

Beware all eloquence

and, equally, its opposite―

they lead to one another

American exceptionalism is a lie

America will never be great, again

at the expense of others

After the vulgar braggadocio

and monstrous fear unleashed

now, is time for humility

Crawl to the lectern

head hanging in shame

that it’s come to this

Raise your downcast eyes

for a somber moment

in mouthless contrition

Should you see fit 

to speak, keep it brief

only say, Thank you

Then, for four long years

work hard to be worthy

of such grave privilege.

Yahia Lababidi, Lebanese-Egyptian-American, is the author of 9 collections of poetry and prose. His new book, Revolutions of the Heart, is preoccupied with transformations: political, cultural and spiritual.