Skip to main content

 A POEM FOR FLAG DAY (June 14)

This Is Why I Cry
By Joan Rowden Hart
I’m often asked why tears fall from my eyes
When I see our flag flying high
Let me tell you today, please hear what I say
So you will know why I cry.
That piece of cloth means so very much more
Than just the colors you see
And there’s a story in that glory
Of how our flag came to be.
There is purity in the white of that flag
And valor flows from the red
The blue means eternal vigilance
And justice to honor the dead
I cry for the pride that I feel deep inside
For those who have given their all
I cry for the wounded whose lives are now changed
Because they answered that call
They were called to fight evil that threatens our freedom
Called to defend family and home
They were called to serve country and honor their God
On the land, in the air, o’er the foam.
I cry when the Star Spangled banner is played
When the roll call of veterans is read
My tears make their way through God Bless America
And when the Pledge of Allegiance is said.
I cry ‘cause I’m blessed to live free in a land
So blessed with abundance held dear
While others were willing to pay the high price
I can live out my life without fear
My grateful heart sings through the tears that I shed
I can worship in freedom and pray
I cry when my family is gathered around
The full table on Thanksgiving day
I know that these blessings came at great cost
They didn’t just fall from the sky
They were purchased by others at great sacrifice
And that is the reason I cry.
©Joan Rowden Hart 2017




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

COMMUNION ON THE MOON

Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. (Melody Beattie) Americans need a day dedicated to gratitude. I have noticed that in the lineup of most of our holidays that Thanksgiving is perhaps the one least given over to secularism - the one we still observe in a traditional fashion. We need it to keep our focus clear and to teach our children what it means to be thankful for family, friendship and faith. We need a time to gather around the table with extended family and enjoy turkey and dressing and gravy, two kinds of potatoes, cranberries, hot rolls, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie and whipped cream. We need it, not for the calories, but to create an awareness that there are those who don’t have those blessings, because in the hectic pace of our everyday lives we tend to forget those in need. Family and food are important, but above all else, Americans need a rededication to our faith. Faith brought the pilgrims to the ne...
Post a Comment
Read more

My Facebook Message To Readers

 I posted this on my Facebook recently to let my Facebook friends know what to expect from my revamped page. A personal note for my special Facebook friends. No one is getting this but you! My Facebook posts have evolved through the years. I still like to make my friends laugh with a silly story or a joke or a cartoon, or get you caught up in a drama that seemingly could only happen to me, or just sharing a memory in a special photo, but more and more I am trying to post words that will inspire you or encourage you. I also like to post informational articles about subjects that might interest you - something you didn’t have time to read or watch. And you know of course that I love to read and especially write poetry so I will share lots of "rhyme and reason" with you, too. My days revolve around the computer, doing research on subjects in which I am interested and want to pass on to you, or surfing Facebook to keep up with my friends. I am not lazy. Unless you are pretty much...
Post a Comment
Read more

SIGNERS OF DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

  I wrote this for the newspaper several years ago. Not political. Just history about the signers of the Declaration of Independence but extremely interesting. Not because I wrote it, but because it is history we have either forgotten, or maybe never learned it in school to begin with. Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence? Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War. They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. What kind of men were they? Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well ...
Post a Comment
Read more