Election Eve

Almost over.

The long dark night of the soul 

that we call a campaign…

slithers toward dawn..

Slander, lies, half-truths,

exaggerations. 

insults and baseless 

accusations: ended.

All the auxiliary players:

the pundits and powers

who interpret

at length and armed

with selected facts, 

cherry-picked 

for their own

prognostications: silenced.

Slurs, and fights, signs

and threats

interviews and jokes,

and twitter-feeds,

debates and interruptions,

the relentless ads

that no one believes

anymore: done.

And despite the speeches,  

despite purported

scandals and misdeeds, 

deliberate or imagined,

despite the coverage, 

the inexorable and execrable

24/7 news cycle,

we are left with less, not more.

Less truth, less confidence,

less faith, less hope,

and certainly, less charity.

We are divided and distracted,

dejected and diminished,

teetering on the precipice..

Time—and tomorrow—

will tell.