The Second Inaugural

Dear Necessity, the magnitude

and difficulty of the trust to which the voice

of my country has called arises from the recent

tempest, adopted by the Spanish to name

the storms they encountered in New Times

Roman. These reflections, bracketed

by floods, have forced themselves

so strongly on my mind that I fear

Hurakan, who commands winds

from the east. In the night there is a coming

and going of people, but where are the former

ties? Although the wounds of many

of you have begun to fester,

there are none under the waters, there are

none. In this conflict all I dare aver

is that it has been my faithful study

to collect a duty from a just appreciation

of every street lamp in Philadelphia. If I

have violated willingly or silently

the injunction thereof, I may

(besides incurring constitutional punishment) be subject

to the upbraiding of all who are now

witnesses of this present solemnity. I did

not say, “In this chapter begins your future, it cannot be put out by fire.”

Source: Incivilities (Counterpath Press, 2010)