These Are My JOTtings, Part #2

Honoring Our Country

America, the Beautiful,
so blest by God Above,
Foundation most immutable,
The Savior in His Love.

A king once thought he owned our lives,
abused us ev'ry day,
'til courage taught us all to thrive,
our own two feet obey.

We fought a good, long time to win
the status of our own.
We'd never bow to earthly men,
demanding from a throne.

The Constitution later came
to guide our history.
Obey its rules, we've none to blame,
we've lives of peace made free.

Our military, lad, and lass,
defend the truth we own.
Our future hopes will never pass
as keep we Honor's tone.

Some left their homes and went to war
to keep their fam'lies free.
They sacrificed their lives of more,
that home would daily be.

Our battered ship of state remains,
ubiquitous our foes.
Their fiendish hearts have forged our chains,
if give we up to those.

Our freedoms can but breathe the air.
So quickly they would drown,
if not for courage lifted there
by those on watery ground.

Our hope to live a free new day,
our gift from those, who died.
"Responsibility," we say,
"is vigilant o'er pride."

They battled bombs. We battle ills,
and fools’ behest so fake.
"O, doth our flag still wave o'er chills?"
To stay free. That's at stake.

https://www.purpleheart.org/static/forms/AmericaTheBeautiful.pdf?

https://amhistory.si.edu/starspangledbanner/pdf/ssb_lyrics.pdf

by Jay O’Toole
on September 28th, 2021