By J.J. Tindall
INAUGURAL
adapted from Lincoln’s second inaugural address
Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray,
that this mighty scourge of war
may speedily pass away.
With malice toward none,
with charity for all,
with firmness in the right
as God gives us to see the right,
let us strive on to finish the work we are in,
to bind up the nation’s wounds,
to care for him who shall have borne the battle
and for his widow and his orphan,
to do all which may achieve and cherish
a just and lasting peace
among ourselves and with all nations.
Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray,
that this mighty scourge of war
may speedily pass away.
–
J. J. Tindall is the Beachwood’s poet-in-residence. He can reached at jjtindall@yahoo.com. Chicagoetry is an exclusive Beachwood collection-in-progress.
Posted on November 5, 2008