Surrender

She hummed their anthem
braiding daisies in her hair.
In a heart too fragile and with resolute conviction,
she believed.

There was a magical moment
before the drug induced euphoria,
distorted realities and extremist platitudes.
A short sweet peace, with little strength to endure.

Once it was "Love Me Tender" and gyrating hips,
Beehives and Ducktails. Goldfish, telephone booths.
Now it was "All You Need Is Love" and The Pill.
Passive Resistance, Civil Rights and "Stop The War."
Many shook their heads in sad reveries, and unison
"This too shall Pass."

The course was charted
and it is painful to look back-
to see how close, and yet
so great the distance to be traveled.

The morning came, as they said it would.
A day no different from yesterday or tomorrow.
It was never decreed
a simple sadness that
has no end.
She took the daisies from her hair.


© 2009 Melissa Jackson Brister All Rights Reserved