Happy Fourth of July!
Long-time readers will recognize this piece from a few years back. I apologize for my absence here; some health challenges remain, and there are other issues to contend with as well. But I do not think I am done yet.
The Independence Journey
Tomorrow I travel
Across this great land
And try to unravel
How all this began
I look to the mountains
And gaze at the sea
Are these where the fountains
Of freedom might be?
The fields full of crops
The deep sylvan glade
The bustling shops
Where the future is made
The skyscrapers soaring
The bridges, the ships
The Space Shuttles roaring
On million-mile trips
But harvest, invention,
Our tools and our crafts
Are not the intention
Contained in those drafts…
“United States” seems
Like a common phrase now
But once it was dreams
Born from deep-thinking brow
As the Founders grew weary
Of rough distant rule
And taxes and tariffs
Provided the fuel…
Independence declared!
Hear the bell as it rings!
That proud history shared
Isn’t based on mere “things”
The new nation caught
And flamed bright in their hearts
And though doubters still thought
That such disparate parts
Could never be coached
Or formed into one
Still ideas, once they’re broached
Sometimes see the job done
Through blood and through sweat
And through fear, war and strife
They struggled, and yet
Freedom loved, more than life
So they crafted a code
That gave people a voice
That gave promise to all
And the world, a new choice
By the people’s consent
A Republic was born
And with blood sorely spent
Broke the shackles we’d worn
Then we prospered and grew
In this fair rugged land
And to build straight and true
All the folks lent a hand
The foundation they laid
Is a strong, steady place
And the price that they paid
Gave us strength, hope, and grace\
And still our Constitution
Marks the Land of the Free
And provides the solution
That made all of this be
And at last I can see
How our strength came about
Founders fought to be free
With hearts noble and stout
And they carried the day
And they brought it to us!
And we now, in our way
Undertake this great trust
For Americans make
Our America great
So I’ll pause and I’ll take
One more moment to state:
My dear friends reading here
Don’t forget where you are
We’ll defeat hate and fear
And we yet will go far
We each have work to do
(Not just do, but know why)
Now, to each one of you
Happy Fourth of July!
===|==============/ Keith DeHavelle