Straight From The Hart

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.