Ode to America: Celebration of 250 Glorious Years of Liberty

Not for the mountains crowned with sovereign snow,
Nor fields of amber that freely wave;
Not for the rivers’ bright, unending flow,
Nor every valiant hero’s hallowed grave.

I love thee for a nobler flame,
A fire no tyrant’s hand could coldly chain;
A people who, for Freedom’s name,
Have borne her cross through blood and pain.

When shrouded darkness gathered over earth,
And kings proclaimed that might was right,
Thy sons arose, duty-bound, to prove man’s worth,
And carried Liberty’s burning light into the fight.

From Lexington’s embattled dawn,
Where farmers faced an empire’s might,
To every shore thy beloved flag has borne
The hungry hope that law may conquer fright.

No throne ordained thy people’s birth;
No blood bestowed a sacred claim.
Each soul arrived with equal worth,
Each free to carve an honored name.

No prince commands the common man;
No master owns another’s breath.
The humblest hand may shape a noble plan
That outlives marble, time, and solemn death.

Thy wealth derives from neither gold nor land,
Nor fleets that circle every distant sea.
Thy greatest treasure is the working hand,
Unfettered still to labor proud and free.

When pernicious tyrants gather, loud and grim,
And chains are forged with cunning art,
Thy steadfast watchfires never shall grow dim
While Freedom lives in one brave heart.

So let no fear corrupt thy steadfast soul,
Nor iniquitous envy steal thy ancient creed.
For Men are greatest when their highest goal
Is earned by character golden and deed.

Stand steadfast, then, though storms arise;
Hold fast the glorious torch through every travail.
A nation lives not by its size,
But by the courage of her every child.

O America, beloved land,
May Heaven keep thy spirit eagle free,
The world shall know what such Men yet can be,
While one dares still to take his valiant stand.