08:56 Tuesday, January 20, 2009, Room 236, Palms MS…..Alone, this lonely watch. Quiet for now./ The room across the hall sounded the vow,/ the oath of office sworn, could barely hear,/ but President Obama’s voice was clear./ Out in the hallway, just outside the door,/ a drinking fountain waits, ready to pour./ No sign forbidding anyone to drink./ Apparently, a few have learned to think./ Injustices die hard. But at this hour,/ Magnificent hope sparkles. There are more/ good reasons, I imagine, to set fear/ aside. Emboldened be, let us draw near,/ regroup, and join the battle. Friend and foe/ alike, will stand in silence and in awe…..

–R.F. Wagner, Jr.