two sides, one truth

“It was the most beautiful day” | we saw democracy in action
“so much love in the air” | as hate and tension mounted on the hill
“the crowd was unbelievable” | with lawmakers under attack
“I’ve never seen anything like it” | it was a violent insurrection 
proud patriots marched on | sending leaders blue and red into hiding
to defend democracy | but when the smoke cleared
to restore the rightful winner | they rose up to vote 
believing an election was stolen | to counter a big lie
some were accused, tried, imprisoned | democracy almost died that day
now the so-called hostages | but for the brave 
by those who stand | who stood their ground 
to honor them | to save us from ourselves
as they sing the national anthem | we will never forget that day
let freedom ring | with liberty and justice for all

~kat

NaPoWriMo 2024 Day 20 Challenge: write a poem that recounts a historical event. In writing your poem, you could draw on your memory, encyclopedias, history books, or primary documents.

Been a while since I wrote a cleave poem. Though I’m a day late to the party, this prompt felt like the perfect opportunity given the revisionist history of recent events. My research took me down a few rabbit holes. It’s no wonder people are confused! But there is truth and reality. Sometimes we need to trust what our eyes and ears and common sense tell us!

Poetry form: A cleave poem is a poem in three (or more) pieces: the left side, the right side, and both combined. Read one side…|…then the other … then both sides line by line combined.