The course of history

Like this stellars jay, 

Examining the lawn for potential food, 

We look back over our past, 

Hoping to find the roots of our behaviors, 

Both personal and communal: 

The mistakes our parents may have made, 

The choices we made, raising our kids, 

Historical events that might — or should — 

Have been handled differently; 

Rules we should have made 

Or shouldn’t have broken — 

All the things that brought us here, 

To Now, this moment, where we sit, 

Staring out at nothing, 

Worried about what’s going down 

 And wondering how to change

The course of history.