Friday, November 23, 2012

Old Glory Speaks to Me



I am Old Glory,
The Stars and Stripes,
The Star-Spangled Banner,
And The Red, White and Blue.

My Union is a constellation
For each of these United States,
My stripes for each of those
Bold colonies who declared unequivocally
Free and independent of a tyrannical king.

Old Glory Red is for valor
For those who fought and died,
For those who still fight,
Remember them all.

Red is the blood spilt by soldiers and sailors.
Oh, the sacrifices they have made
So that we may live,
So that we are free.

Red is the courage of our citizens,
To stand and defend the defenseless,
To accomplish the impossible,
To sacrifice all for our beliefs,
To follow The American Dream.

Red is the lifeblood,
The heart,
The love,
The very essence of these United States:
It’s citizens.
Nowhere else will you find such people.

White is the light,
Blinding to all who wish to be free.
The fire that Liberty holds aloft,
Guiding others to our shores.
The New Colossus at the golden door,
The Shining City upon a Hill.

White is the purity,
Of justice,
Of freedom.
It is the Spirit of America.
It is the ideal that justice prevails,
It is our treasured freedoms,
The bedrock on which this great nation rests.

White is the spirit of it’s citizens,
The religious freedoms that we hold dear,
Free to pray and to worship,
The free voices with which we utter without fear.

White is the melody of a song,
It inspires like no other,
A chorus of angels,
To inspire and strengthen us.

Old Glory Blue is to be true,
Of loyalty our fighting men and women,
Understand and declare:
“No one left behind”.

Blue is the embodiment of strength,
Of perseverance and commitment,
Of character and belief.
When all hope seems lost,
It’s what an American strives to be.

Blue is our skies and our waters,
Pure and good.
Breathe deep and drink deep,
It sustains us when nothing else exists.

Blue is excellence,
For which we strive,
We toil and we hunger,
We serve with distinction.

Be proud and blessed,
I am you and yours.
I am your neighbor and your friend;
I know no colors but these.

I encourage the fallen to stand,
I protect the innocent and the defenseless,
I show the path to those lost;
I bring faith to those in need.

I am justice when injustices exist,
Be assured that liberty prevails.
I am the strength of hard work,
You know its rewards.

I am the spirit that drives you,
To exceed all expectations.
I am the optimist,
There is always a way.

I am humility and charity,
Giving our last to others that need.
I persist against our enemies,
When you are down and almost out,
With hope and melody,
I encourage you to fight to your last breath.

You see a banner,
Struck in freedom and liberty,
Sewn with hope and faith and love,
Hung with pride and spirit.

I see a people,
Determined and strong,
Charitable and free,
Proud and thankful.

I am Old Glory!
--------------------------
Michael Clinton Ulrich
11/23/2012

1 comment:

  1. Is it poetry? Dunno. My thoughts? My feelings? Definitely!

    ReplyDelete