The New Colossus
by Emma Lazarus (1849-1887)
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Pledge of Allegiance
by Rev. Francis Bellamy (1855–1931), August 1892
I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
The Eagle & The Hawk
by John Denver (1943-1997) & Mike Taylor
MIDI sequenced by Deb Ackley
I am the eagle, I live in high country
In rocky cathedrals that reach to the sky.
I am the hawk and there's blood on my feathers,
But time is still turning, they soon will be dry
And all those who see me and all who believe in me
Share in the freedom I feel when I fly.
Come dance with the west wind and
Touch on the mountain tops,
Sail over canyons and up to the stars.
And reach for the heavens, and hope for the future,
And all that we can be, not just what we are.
Meditation 17
by John Donne (1573-1631)
Nuc lento sonitu dicunt, morieris.
Now this bell tolling softly for another, says to me, Thou must die.
No man is an island, entire of itself;
every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less,
as well as if a promontory were,
as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were.
Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind;
and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
it tolls for thee.
George Washington signifies the struggle for independence and the birth of the Republic,
Thomas Jefferson... the idea of representative government,
Theodore Roosevelt... the 20th-century role of the United States in world affairs and
Abraham Lincoln... the permanent union of the States and equality for all citizens.
Fireworks · Thoughts on Independence Day
page inspired by post-9/11/01 sigs at Club Tyhart
Thank you, George from Brooklyn