We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

* * *

approaching our country’s first quarter millennium
our origins have less & less to do with present reality
well past trials of pushy rulers across the ocean
can’t we stand on our own feet, make a go of it ourselves?

well we’ve done it, moved on to that somewhere else
what’s still alike, even as preamble’s start & finish still apply ?
– ever struggling for a more perfect union
– ever pressing on for something better for the children

giving the dream everything we had
costs of unfocused magnitude surge well past all this profit
much better collectively than trials of bugger king-&-co ?

time once more to take on the bigger calling
beyond mere rights to make it, each on our own
clearly it’s time to constitute our single planet’s very life

* * *

We stand at a critical moment in earth’s history, a time when humanity must choose its future. As the world becomes increasingly interdependent and fragile, the future at once holds great peril and great promise.

To move forward we must recognize that in the midst of a magnificent diversity of cultures and life forms we are one human family and one earth community with a common destiny. We must join together to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace.

Towards this end, it is imperative that we, the peoples of earth, declare our responsibility to one another, to the greater community of life, and to future generations.