Freedom and responsibility.
Warmth and integrity.
Understanding and compassion.
Love and kindness.

Freedom rings from the huge bell with the crack.
It tells of our country's past and hangs for all to see.
The stomp of a soldier's boots as he marches to war.
It should not be the last thing his child hears of him.

View the miraculous rivers, choked out with the cast-offs from your car window.
Red, white and blue flutters in a dirty breeze.
The smoke is drowning it. Can't you see?

The temperature rises under the skin, bursting out with hot words.
Black and white side by side.
Not everything has to resort to violence.

Give me gentle words and gentle fingers to shape this future.
The world is in tiny hands; they are tomorrow.
Letting go was easy.
Fighting is hard.
Right is hard.

This life is hard, but it's yours.
Don't waste it, on your feet.
Maybe someday, we'll meet on the other side.
But now, this is our side, our existence and future.

Look out to where ocean meets sky, water touching clouds.
Watch. She paints her scene on the waves as she falls.
White feathers, wide wings, and our spirits soar.
Hope still lingers in the reaches.