Reply #11: I liked her poem, which continued the flow of poetry that began

[Overseas]

with the John Williams piece, played by the multi-cultural classical group. That music covered a range of emotions, from sadness to delight and back again. Then our Commander in Chief gave a poetic speech of his own, seeking to banish fear and inspire us all to repair our country and restore our position in the global community. He also talked about rising above the partisan rhetoric to restore a government that worked for all its people, not just the already prosperous.

Then Alexander's poem echoed those themes-- she began with noise and brambles-- fighting one's way through the noise to the unifying factors like suffering and love.

And the wonderful benediction continued those themes in the format of plaintive prayers, with humor woven right in to his calls for forgiveness and strength to carry on.

My first reaction after that lovely sequence of poetic expression was Poetry is Back in the White House!