“Land of the Brave” where dear liberty was crowned,
We once stood united, our wills tightly bound.
Through the smoke of battle, our ancestors espied
That freedom’s a flame, but it can flicker and die.
From the ashes of conflict, we forged our resolve,
In confronting the tyrants, our spirits evolved.
With courage we faced those who twisted the truth,
Promises that gush like the Fountain of Youth.
Yet now in the shadows, the voices grow loud,
With pledges painted in palettes of the proud.
Cloaked in assurance, with menace beneath,
The gloss of populists who thrive on our beefs.
“Remember,” they say, “the past is a guide;”
But complacence makes civic duty slide.
We gather our banners, but forget what they mean,
As we march to the rhythms of a con man’s scheme.
The lessons grow dimmer as visions in fog;
While strongmen encroach, we sit like boiling frogs.
With fervor they promise to serve and protect,
But a chain on the soul is what they project.
So heed history’s warnings, the lessons they give,
For freedom’s a choice, not a passive way to live.
In the face of the storm, let our voices unite;
For the fight isn’t over, we must keep our rights.
To honor the fallen, please open your eyes;
For sake of the nation, let wisdom arise.
Together we’ll withstand, but divided we’ll fall;
For our future to last, we must give it our all.
© 2024, Kenneth Koziol. All rights reserved.