After all the high fives have been fived

And all the tears shed

And all the worst fears of the fearful realized

And all the drunk revelers return home

To their shrunken home values and anemic 401ks

And all the yard signs removed

Like litter from an enormous baseball field

Where the real World Series was played, and hard,

For two years, two long years that seemed

They've never end

And finally did

With a resounding crash

of Change Change Change CHANGE

What now?

What now, this morning after?

Will we pat ourselves on the back and say

Good day, new world, we won?

Or will we gloat in the faces

Of the anguished vanquished --

And begin to dole out

Bit by bit, cut for cut,

8 years of payback and perceived hell

Where, yes, we suffered, yet lived an American dream

Compared to the rest of the world?

Will we flip intolerance and hatred

Upon the loser's supporters

Weary and worried in the millions upon millions,

Still our brethren (country first)

Calling them "haters" and "stupid" and "beaten" and old"?

And doing so, hold up a man, just a man,

As our new idol of Change, our champion-elect

And placing him upon a pedestal when it's clear that he'd rather

Walk on the ground

Like the rest of us

Like all of us, even those who hate or fear or dislike him.

Not an idol, but himself:

Good man, good leader, good father, good citizen.

Someone to celebrate and emulate and pray for

Who cannot do it all by himself.

What now?

I feel solace in this soul, long searching for resolution

Redemption for sins of the fathers

Respect from a patient world.

I look to the horizon with hope

And I seek my place in it.

I look around and see

Millions, billions standing here with me

Waiting. We're waiting.

The road to the future begins with one step.

I seek a map - too soon, perhaps, too soon.

It's only been 9 hours, but I cannot help thinking

Where to start? When? Now?

How to keep this transformative, historic feeling of genuine hope alive

For me, for you, for everyone, everywhere.

So what now, America?

What now?