As of recently, I have been honored with the opportunity of delivering a speech on Americanism that I hoped would resonate in some way with the intimate crowds that have heard it. The following is only a piece of the work, but I find that it is the most powerful.
Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Our lives are as such—given a compass from history
For how we are—and as we are—is surely no mystery.
From the hearts of the past, and dreams of the broken,
The souls of the brave have secured this full token—
Bodies built to withstand pain, voices wired for expression,
Minds sharp with pride, and ideals for impression.
Yet, where do I lie within this vast disposition?
Who are those who live graced with this fruition?
I can say I’m no outsider to this dream many seek—
Nor am I unfamiliar to “this dream’s” great mystique.
And what I can say of this dream, I know well—
For I see its banner, and I hear its bell.
It rings not for just one, but for those who believe,
In freedom, in rights, and in opportunity.
I can see all of these in this “American Dream,”
But before it was given, it must have been achieved.
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
Voices have cried out to thin, empty air,
To a life they so wanted—so far, and so rare.
And the grasp of the masters transcended the start—
And they were held back, their hopes still apart
From the life that they led and the life they could choose,
They saw the horizon and could not refuse.
They leapt towards the distance, despite imminent pain,
Holding on to the notion that, they too, would gain.
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
No battle they fought was simple at all—
Lives were put in place and succumbed to the fall.
But those who prevailed knew of the end—
Their efforts would change, resolve, and amend
The lives set in motion for that group overall;
The individual mind anything but small.
With the shouts, the chants, and jeers against them—
They marched with conviction in securing the gem.
They returned from the trial, years after their efforts
With cut ties from their suffering, their chains greatly severed.
And what I can say of this dream, I know well—
For I see its banner, and I hear its bell.
It rings not for just one, but for those who believe,
In freedom, in rights, and in opportunity.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
