Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE AMERICAN?, by ROSELLE MERCIER MONTGOMERY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE AMERICAN?, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: What does it mean? I look across the years
Last Line: A worthy daughter, or a noble son. ...
Subject(s): United States; America


WHAT does it mean? I look across the years....
I see them come, but through a mist of tears,
Our gallant forebears, full of hopes and fears.

I see them leave behind for conscience' sake,
The homes they loved, the ties so hard to break,
Their questing, wondering, westward way to take

I see them face and fight the wilderness,
Undaunted by its dangers, its duress,
And from its wildness, wrest and win success

I see them take their living from the soil,
The men and women joined in homely toil —
Where they then planted, now our heart-roots coil.

I see them build their homes, their house of prayer,
And when its bell rings out upon the air,
I see them kneel in simple worship there.

I hear the drums of war's alarum beat,
I see them seize their arms, rise to their feet
Their enemies — and liberty's — to meet.

I see them face and conquer every foe,
I see their cities rise, a nation grow,
To whose broad breast earth's eager pilgrims go.

To be American is to be one
In whom these brave inheritances run,
A worthy daughter, or a noble son. ...




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