The Past Is Not Even Past
If only the past would stay gone,
Where it belonged all along.
And memories would fade
To insensible shade.
Alas we cannot get away from it: our personal history stalks us even when we are sleeping. These simulated ancestors also bedevil us, erupting from different centuries in different parts of the country to remind us our national story — with its storms and rough edges — is not now and has never been past.
Our spiritual progenitors were wise (above). And tough (below). Their essences seemingly refuse to die.
