Motivation 2020: 20 Famous July 4th Poems To Remember #IndependenceDay
“For you have been called to live in freedom. Use your freedom to serve one another in love.” Galatians 5:13
Motivation 2020: 20 Famous July 4th Poems To Remember #IndependenceDay
Motivation 2020: 20 Famous July 4th Poems To Remember #IndependenceDay
We, the People, recognize that we have responsibilities as well as rights; that our destinies are bound together; that a freedom which only asks what’s in it for me, a freedom without a commitment to others, a freedom without love or charity or duty or patriotism, is unworthy of our founding ideals, and those who died in their defense. Barack Obama
Happy 244th Independence Day!: As we prepare to celebrate this very important Independence day in American history, I can’t help but stop to reflect on why this truly matters. We have been battling a global pandemic that has decimated lives across the globe and created a new normal for us all. We must use this time to reflect on what freedom/independence truly means and how it impacts all of our lives in this great country. The Black Lives Matter movement has brought systemic racism and inequities to the forefront and as we celebrate on July 4th, let us remember that the right to liberty, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness we desire for ourselves should also be what we must want for everyone else.
How did we reach Independence Day? 244 years ago, on July 4, 1776, the forefathers commemorated the adoption of the Declaration of Independence; it was an auspicious day filled with optimism for the future of this newly birthed, great nation. It signified the birth of the United States of America and the liberation of her original thirteen colonies from British rule. The actual legal separation occurred on the 2nd, not the 4th. July 4th is the date the documents were ratified and the circuitous journey that many took to arrive on this new land in search of a new life reached a milestone. Let us not forget that this is a nation built on the backs of millions who had a dream of a better life; of gaining personal freedom.
To celebrate Independence Day 2020, I have selected 20 Famous Poems/Lyrical Poems that speak to the meaning of July 4th, Independence Day, Freedom, and more. Some have been excerpted due to their length, some are poems that became lyrics to popular songs, while others are added in full. Take a moment to read them all and contemplate their message. Here is a list of the 20 poems if you wish to mark them for your own enjoyment: The New Colossus By Emma Lazarus, Concord Hymn By Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Star-Spangled Banner By Francis Scott Key, America By Claude McKay, America The Beautiful – A Poem for July 4. By Katharine Lee Bates, America, A Prophecy By William Blake – an Excerpt, The Congressional Library [excerpt] By Amy Lowell, Good Night Poem by Carl Sandburg, Banneker By Rita Dove, Paul Revere’s Ride By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, I Hear America Singing By Walt Whitman, Let America Be America Again – an excerpt By Langston Hughes, To The Fourth of July – By Swami Vivekananda, Learning to love America By Shirley Geok-Lin Lim, Liberty Bell By J. P. Dunn, July 4th by May Swenson, Fourth of July By John Brehm, Immigrants in Our Own Land By Jimmy Santiago Baca, The Fourth of July Parade By Fran Haraway, and America By Allen Ginsberg – an Excerpt.
READ: Motivation Mondays: 100 July 4th Quotes – Independence Day
Motivation Mondays: Optimism. Life. Independence Day
Motivation Mondays: Dream BIGGER – Independence Day
The New Colossus By Emma Lazarus via the poetryfoundation
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Concord Hymn By Ralph Waldo Emerson via poets.org
By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.
The foe long since in silence slept;
Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;
And Time the ruined bridge has swept
Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.
On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We set to-day a votive stone;
That memory may their deed redeem,
When, like our sires, our sons are gone.
Spirit, that made those heroes dare
To die, and leave their children free,
Bid Time and Nature gently spare
The shaft we raise to them and thee.
The Star-Spangled Banner By Francis Scott Key via poets.org
O say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming;
And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?
On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream;
‘Tis the star-spangled banner; O long may it wave
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave!
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave,
From the terror of flight and the gloom of the grave;
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave!
O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n-rescued land,
Praise the power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just.
And this be our motto— “In God is our trust; ”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
America By Claude McKay via poetryfoundation
Although she feeds me bread of bitterness,
And sinks into my throat her tiger’s tooth,
Stealing my breath of life, I will confess
I love this cultured hell that tests my youth.
Her vigor flows like tides into my blood,
Giving me strength erect against her hate,
Her bigness sweeps my being like a flood.
Yet, as a rebel fronts a king in state,
I stand within her walls with not a shred
Of terror, malice, not a word of jeer.
Darkly I gaze into the days ahead,
And see her might and granite wonders there,
Beneath the touch of Time’s unerring hand,
Like priceless treasures sinking in the sand.
America The Beautiful – A Poem for July 4. By Katharine Lee Bates via Wikipedia
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
O beautiful for pilgrim feet,
Whose stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!
O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness,
And every gain divine!
O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
America, A Prophecy By William Blake – an Excerpt. (Read the full poem at Bartleby.com)
Preludium – an excerpt
The shadowy Daughter of Urthona stood before red Orc,
When fourteen suns had faintly journey’d o’er his dark abode:
His food she brought in iron baskets, his drink in cups of iron.
Crown’d with a helmet and dark hair the nameless Female stood;
A quiver with its burning stores, a bow like that of night,
When pestilence is shot from heaven—no other arms she need!
Invulnerable tho’ naked, save where clouds roll round her loins
Their awful folds in the dark air: silent she stood as night;
For never from her iron tongue could voice or sound arise,
But dumb till that dread day when Orc assay’d his fierce embrace.
A Prophecy – an excerpt
THE GUARDIAN PRINCE of Albion burns in his nightly tent:
Sullen fires across the Atlantic glow to America’s shore,
Piercing the souls of warlike men who rise in silent night.
Washington, Franklin, Paine, and Warren, Gates, Hancock, and Green
Meet on the coast glowing with blood from Albion’s fiery Prince. 5
Washington spoke: ‘Friends of America! look over the Atlantic sea;
A bended bow is lifted in Heaven, and a heavy iron chain
Descends, link by link, from Albion’s cliffs across the sea, to bind
Brothers and sons of America; till our faces pale and yellow,
Heads depress’d, voices weak, eyes downcast, hands work-bruis’d, 10
Feet bleeding on the sultry sands, and the furrows of the whip
Descend to generations, that in future times forget.’
The strong voice ceas’d; for a terrible blast swept over the heaving sea:
The eastern cloud rent: on his cliffs stood Albion’s wrathful Prince,
A dragon form, clashing his scales: at midnight he arose, 15
And flam’d red meteors round the land of Albion beneath;
His voice, his locks, his awful shoulders, and his glowing eyes
Appear to the Americans upon the cloudy night.
“I’d like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free and wanted other people to be also free.” Rosa Parks
Motivation 2020: 20 Famous July 4th Poems To Remember #IndependenceDay
Motivation 2020: 20 Famous July 4th Poems To Remember #IndependenceDay
I believe our flag is more than just cloth and ink. It is a universally recognized symbol that stands for liberty, and freedom. It is the history of our nation, and it’s marked by the blood of those who died defending it. John Thune
What are your plans for this special day? As we join our loved ones to celebrate July 4th, take a moment to educate those around you on the history of Independence Day, read the Declaration of Independence and teach your loved ones about the long journey that got YOU here. After all, this is a nation of immigrants. It is not enough to eat, drink and be merry… take time to teach yourself and others about how this impacts your own dreams, celebrate your independence, cherish the liberties you enjoy, and stay motivated to ensure that others can have access to the same rights we wish for our loved ones and ourselves.
READ: Motivation Mondays: Happy 4th Of July – Independence Day
Haiku: Happy Independence Day!
Motivation Mondays: FREEDOM
The Congressional Library [excerpt] By Amy Lowell via poets.org
Where else in all America are we so symbolized
As in this hall?
White columns polished like glass,
A dome and a dome,
A balcony and a balcony,
Stairs and the balustrades to them,
Yellow marble and red slabs of it,
All mounting, spearing, flying into color.
Color round the dome and up to it,
Color curving, kite-flying, to the second dome,
Light, dropping, pitching down upon the color,
Arrow-falling upon the glass-bright pillars,
Mingled colors spinning into a shape of white pillars,
Fusing, cooling, into balanced shafts of shrill and interthronging light.
This is America,
This vast, confused beauty,
This staring, restless speed of loveliness,
Mighty, overwhelming, crude, of all forms,
Making grandeur out of profusion,
Afraid of no incongruities,
Sublime in its audacity,
Bizarre breaker of moulds,
Laughing with strength,
Charging down on the past,
Glorious and conquering,
Destroyer, builder,
Invincible pith and marrow of the world,
An old-world remaking,
Whirling into the no-world of all-colored light.
Good Night Poem by Carl Sandburg via poemhunter
Many ways to say good night.
Fireworks at a pier on the Fourth of July
spell it with red wheels and yellow spokes.
They fizz in the air, touch the water, and quit.
Rockets make a trajectory of gold-and-blue
and then go out.
Railroad trains at night spell with a smokestack mushrooming a white pillar.
Steamboats turn a curve in the Mississippi crying a baritone that crosses lowland cottonfields to razorback hill.
It is easy to spell good night.
Many ways to spell good night.
Banneker By Rita Dove via poetryfoundation
What did he do except lie
under a pear tree, wrapped in
a great cloak, and meditate
on the heavenly bodies?
Venerable, the good people of Baltimore
whispered, shocked and more than
a little afraid. After all it was said
he took to strong drink.
Why else would he stay out
under the stars all night
and why hadn’t he married?
But who would want him! Neither
Ethiopian nor English, neither
lucky nor crazy, a capacious bird
humming as he penned in his mind
another enflamed letter
to President Jefferson—he imagined
the reply, polite and rhetorical.
Those who had been to Philadelphia
reported the statue
of Benjamin Franklin
before the library
his very size and likeness.
A wife? No, thank you.
At dawn, he milked
the cows, then went inside
and put on a pot to stew
while he slept. The clock
he whittled as a boy
still ran. Neighbors
woke him up
with warm bread and quilts.
At nightfall, he took out
his rifle—a white-maned
figure stalking the darkened
breast of the Union—and
shot at the stars, and by chance
one went out. Had he killed?
I assure thee, my dear Sir!
Lowering his eyes to fields
sweet with the rot of spring, he could see
a government’s domed city
rising from the morass and spreading
in a spiral of lights…
Paul Revere’s Ride By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow – an excerpt (read the full poem at poets.org)
Listen, my children, and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-Five:
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.
He said to his friend, “If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry-arch
Of the North-Church-tower, as a signal-light,—
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country-folk to be up and to arm.”
Then he said “Good night!” and with muffled oar
Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where swinging wide at her moorings lay
The Somerset, British man-of-war:
A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
Across the moon, like a prison-bar,
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified
By its own reflection in the tide.
Meanwhile, his friend, through alley and street
Wanders and watches with eager ears,
Till in the silence around him he hears
The muster of men at the barrack door,
The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,
And the measured tread of the grenadiers
Marching down to their boats on the shore.
Then he climbed to the tower of the church,
Up the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread,
To the belfry-chamber overhead,
And startled the pigeons from their perch
On the sombre rafters, that round him made
Masses and moving shapes of shade,—
By the trembling ladder, steep and tall,
To the highest window in the wall,
Where he paused to listen and look down
A moment on the roofs of the town,
And the moonlight flowing overall.
I Hear America Singing By Walt Whitman via poetryfoundation
I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,
The wood-cutter’s song, the ploughboy’s on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown,
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing,
Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,
The day what belongs to the day—at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.
Let America Be America Again – an excerpt By Langston Hughes Read the full poem at poetryfoundation
Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.
(America never was America to me.)
Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed—
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.
(It never was America to me.)
O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.
(There’s never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this “homeland of the free.”)
Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?
And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?
I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek—
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.
I am the young man, full of strength and hope,
Tangled in that ancient endless chain
Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!
Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!
Of work the men! Of take the pay!
Of owning everything for one’s own greed!
I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.
I am the worker sold to the machine.
I am the Negro, servant to you all.
I am the people, humble, hungry, mean—
Hungry yet today despite the dream.
Beaten yet today—O, Pioneers!
I am the man who never got ahead,
The poorest worker bartered through the years.
Yet I’m the one who dreamt our basic dream
In the Old World while still a serf of kings,
Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,
That even yet its mighty daring sings
In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned
That’s made America the land it has become.
O, I’m the man who sailed those early seas
In search of what I meant to be my home—
For I’m the one who left dark Ireland’s shore,
And Poland’s plain, and England’s grassy lea,
And torn from Black Africa’s strand I came
To build a “homeland of the free.”
The free?
Who said the free? Not me?
Surely not me? The millions on relief today?
The millions shot down when we strike?
The millions who have nothing for our pay?
For all the dreams we’ve dreamed
And all the songs we’ve sung
And all the hopes we’ve held
And all the flags we’ve hung,
The millions who have nothing for our pay—
Except the dream that’s almost dead today.
To The Fourth of July – By Swami Vivekananda via poemhunter
Behold, the dark clouds melt away,
That gathered thick at night, and hung
So like a gloomy pall above the earth!
Before thy magic touch, the world
Awakes. The birds in chorus sing.
The flowers raise their star-like crowns—
Dew-set, and wave thee welcome fair.
The lakes are opening wide in love
Their hundred thousand lotus-eyes
To welcome thee, with all their depth.
All hail to thee, thou Lord of Light!
A welcome new to thee, today,
O Sun! Today thou sheddest Liberty!
Bethink thee how the world did wait,
And search for thee, through time and clime.
Some gave up home and love of friends,
And went in quest of thee, self-banished,
Through dreary oceans, through primeval forests,
Each step a struggle for their life or death;
Then came the day when work bore fruit,
And worship, love, and sacrifice,
Fulfilled, accepted, and complete.
Then thou, propitious, rose to shed
The light of Freedom on mankind.
Move on, O Lord, in thy resistless path!
Till thy high noon o’erspreads the world.
Till every land reflects thy light,
Till men and women, with uplifted head,
Behold their shackles broken, and
Know, in springing joy, their life renewed!
The details for Motivation Mondays are below. Join in! The themes for JUN – JUL 2020 are:
06/01 – 02 BLACKOUT DAY,
06/07 – 13 St Anthony
06/14
06/21 – 19 Juneteenth, 20 World Refugee Day, 21 International Yoga, 21 Father’s Day, 24 St John the Baptist, 26 Against Illicit Trafficking,
06/28 – 30 BET Awards
07/01 – 01 SUMMER, 04 Independence Day, 06 D-Day,
07/05 – 07 World Chocolate Day
07/12 – 18 Nelson Mandela Day,
07/19 – 24 International Self-Care Day
07/26 – 28 Parents Day, 30 International Day of Friendship, World Day Against Trafficking in Persons
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“The United States is the only country with a known birthday…. There is no ‘Republican,’ no ‘Democrat,’ on the Fourth of July — all are Americans.” James G. Blaine
Motivation 2020: Independence Day and Dream Quote – 20 Famous Poems To Remember #IndependenceDay
Motivation 2020: 20 Famous July 4th Poems To Remember #IndependenceDay
Motivation 2020: 20 Famous July 4th Poems To Remember #IndependenceDay
Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation, are people who want crops without plowing the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning; they want the ocean without the roar of its many waters. The struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, or it may be both. But it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Frederick Douglass
Remember to pause and give thanks for your freedom and the rights you enjoy. Why is this important? Why is this day a motivator? When we live in a society that values its freedoms, we can trust that most of our choices won’t be challenged, and our families won’t come to harm because of our ideas and decisions. We can express our opinions on a wide range of topics, speak out against any sort of civil rights infringements, fight against bigotry, choose the type of jobs we want, and move around independently. While this is true in theory, it remains an unfufilled dream for so many people. We must remember to never take our freedoms for granted, to honor those who protect our rights and do our bit to ensure that our children, grandchildren, and others will continue to enjoy and celebrate Independence Day. Have a Happy and Productive weekend. Stay safe, and wear those masks, and maintain your social distance. By doing so you will save both others’ lives and your life.
READ: Reflections: On A Happy Fourth of July…
Inspiration: What If…
Life, Liberty and Independence Day: A chat with Dan Rosandich, Canny Cartoonist
Learning to love America By Shirley Geok-Lin Lim via poetryfoundation
because it has no pure products
because the Pacific Ocean sweeps along the coastline
because the water of the ocean is cold
and because land is better than ocean
because I say we rather than they
because I live in California
I have eaten fresh artichokes
and jacaranda bloom in April and May
because my senses have caught up with my body
my breath with the air it swallows
my hunger with my mouth
because I walk barefoot in my house
because I have nursed my son at my breast
because he is a strong American boy
because I have seen his eyes redden when he is asked who he is
because he answers I don’t know
because to have a son is to have a country
because my son will bury me here
because countries are in our blood and we bleed them
because it is late and too late to change my mind
because it is time.
Liberty Bell By J. P. Dunn via kotn.org
Ring on, ring on sweet Liberty Bell
For peace on earth, good will to men.
A story true, ye kindly tell,
From Bunker Hill down to Argonne.
Ring on, ring on sweet Liberty Bell
In every clime where freedom dwells
Your sweetest strains and imparting knells
On New Year’s eve was heard again.
Ring on, ring on sweet Liberty Bell
Peal after peal, your music swell
Beneath the blue the white and red
That waves so proudly today o’er the living
And so sacredly o’er the dead.
The Plains Poems in Kansas
July 4th by May Swenson via poetryfoundation
Gradual bud and bloom and seedfall speeded up
are these mute explosions in slow motion.
From vertical shoots above the sea, the fire
flowers open, shedding their petals. Black waves,
turned more than moonwhite, pink ice, lightning blue,
echo our gasps of admiration as they crash
and hush. Another bush ablaze snicks straight up.
A gap like heartstop between the last vanished
particle and the thuggish boom. And the thuggish
boom repeats in stutters from sandhill hollows
in the shore. We want more. A twirling sun,
or dismembered chrysanthemum bulleted up, leisurely
bursts, in an instant timestreak is suckswooped
back to its core. And we want more: red giant,
white dwarf, black hole dense, invisible, all in one.
Fourth of July By John Brehm via poetryfoundation
Freedom is a rocket,
isn’t it, bursting
orgasmically over
parkloads of hot
dog devouring
human beings
or into the cities
of our enemies
without whom we
would surely
kill ourselves
though they are
ourselves and
America I see now
is the soldier
who said I saw
something
burning on my
chest and tried
to brush it off with
my right hand
but my arm
wasn’t there—
America is no
other than this
moment, the
burning ribcage,
the hand gone
that might have
put it out, the skies
afire with our history.
Immigrants in Our Own Land By Jimmy Santiago Baca via poetryfoundation
We are born with dreams in our hearts,
looking for better days ahead.
At the gates we are given new papers,
our old clothes are taken
and we are given overalls like mechanics wear.
We are given shots and doctors ask questions.
Then we gather in another room
where counselors orient us to the new land
we will now live in. We take tests.
Some of us were craftsmen in the old world,
good with our hands and proud of our work.
Others were good with their heads.
They used common sense like scholars
use glasses and books to reach the world.
But most of us didn’t finish high school.
The old men who have lived here stare at us,
from deep disturbed eyes, sulking, retreated.
We pass them as they stand around idle,
leaning on shovels and rakes or against walls.
Our expectations are high: in the old world,
they talked about rehabilitation,
about being able to finish school,
and learning an extra good trade.
But right away we are sent to work as dishwashers,
to work in fields for three cents an hour.
The administration says this is temporary
So we go about our business, blacks with blacks,
poor whites with poor whites,
chicanos and indians by themselves.
The administration says this is right,
no mixing of cultures, let them stay apart,
like in the old neighborhoods we came from.
We came here to get away from false promises,
from dictators in our neighborhoods,
who wore blue suits and broke our doors down
when they wanted, arrested us when they felt like,
swinging clubs and shooting guns as they pleased.
But it’s no different here. It’s all concentrated.
The doctors don’t care, our bodies decay,
our minds deteriorate, we learn nothing of value.
Our lives don’t get better, we go down quick.
My cell is crisscrossed with laundry lines,
my T-shirts, boxer shorts, socks and pants are drying.
Just like it used to be in my neighborhood:
from all the tenements laundry hung window to window.
Across the way Joey is sticking his hands
through the bars to hand Felipé a cigarette,
men are hollering back and forth cell to cell,
saying their sinks don’t work,
or somebody downstairs hollers angrily
about a toilet overflowing,
or that the heaters don’t work.
I ask Coyote next door to shoot me over
a little more soap to finish my laundry.
I look down and see new immigrants coming in,
mattresses rolled up and on their shoulders,
new haircuts and brogan boots,
looking around, each with a dream in their heart,
thinking they’ll get a chance to change their lives.
But in the end, some will just sit around
talking about how good the old world was.
Some of the younger ones will become gangsters.
Some will die and others will go on living
without a soul, a future, or a reason to live.
Some will make it out of here with hate in their eyes,
but so very few make it out of here as human
as they came in, they leave wondering what good they are now
as they look at their hands so long away from their tools,
as they look at themselves, so long gone from their families,
so long gone from life itself, so many things have changed.
The Fourth of July Parade By Fran Haraway via poetryfoundation
Stripes and stars,
Antique cars,
Pretty girls,
Baton twirls,
Spangled gowns,
Friendly clowns,
Smiling folks,
Papered spokes,
Marching feet,
Endless heat,
Clapping hands,
High school bands,
Town traditions,
Politicians,
Perspiration,
Celebration!
America By Allen Ginsberg – an Excerpt (See full poem at poetryfoundation
America I’ve given you all and now I’m nothing.
America two dollars and twentyseven cents January 17, 1956.
I can’t stand my own mind.
America when will we end the human war?
Go fuck yourself with your atom bomb.
I don’t feel good don’t bother me.
I won’t write my poem till I’m in my right mind.
America when will you be angelic?
When will you take off your clothes?
When will you look at yourself through the grave?
When will you be worthy of your million Trotskyites?
America why are your libraries full of tears?
America when will you send your eggs to India?
I’m sick of your insane demands.
When can I go into the supermarket and buy what I need with my good looks?
America after all it is you and I who are perfect not the next world.
Your machinery is too much for me.
You made me want to be a saint.
There must be some other way to settle this argument.
Burroughs is in Tangiers I don’t think he’ll come back it’s sinister.
Are you being sinister or is this some form of practical joke?
I’m trying to come to the point.
I refuse to give up my obsession.
America stop pushing I know what I’m doing.
America the plum blossoms are falling.
I haven’t read the newspapers for months, everyday somebody goes on trial for murder.
America I feel sentimental about the Wobblies.
America I used to be a communist when I was a kid I’m not sorry.
I smoke marijuana every chance I get.
I sit in my house for days on end and stare at the roses in the closet.
When I go to Chinatown I get drunk and never get laid.
My mind is made up there’s going to be trouble.
You should have seen me reading Marx.
My psychoanalyst thinks I’m perfectly right.
I won’t say the Lord’s Prayer.
I have mystical visions and cosmic vibrations.
America I still haven’t told you what you did to Uncle Max after he came over from Russia.
I’m addressing you.
Are you going to let your emotional life be run by Time Magazine?
I’m obsessed by Time Magazine.
I read it every week.
Its cover stares at me every time I slink past the corner candystore.
I read it in the basement of the Berkeley Public Library.
It’s always telling me about responsibility. Businessmen are serious. Movie producers are serious. Everybody’s serious but me.
It occurs to me that I am America.
I am talking to myself again.
Any Zen Antics stories via 
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PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos – JULY via Pixabay, AND/OR iNDEPENDENCE DAY WIKIPEDIA
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
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Wow I haven’t heard a lot of these poems, but reading them brings me right back to growing up in the US. I don’t really celebrate the 4th now that I’ve moved overseas.
Beautiful poems. Happy Independence Day, everyone!
Finally today is July 4th and although it will be a different day from the others, the desire to celebrate is not lacking. Just reinvent yourself! And with this inspirations all is possibile!
Wow… Very interesting poem. It being back memories. Thanks for sharing. Hi5
These are really beautiful poems. The power of poetry cannot be understated. It can really touch you in a way that no other written word can. Beautiful selections.
This is such an important time for us to be thinking of freedom and independence. I feel like that makes this July 4th even more pertinent.
These poem are all so meaningful! I think this year, many people won’t be celebrating the same because of COVID-19, but I am grateful that I still have my close family to spend the day with.
Great poems they are very beautiful and inspiring Hope you guys have a happy Fourth of July
Love how the Rosa Parks quote is included! Now more than ever, I believe its important to know the significance behind America’s 4th of July AND look at the state the country is in today. Great reminder of how far we have come, but how far we need to go.
I like “The Star-Spangled Banner” so glad this article has the link to get the poem, my family member like it as well.
I hope you have an amazing 4th July. Thanks for sharing all this information.
nice post. i have always loved the star spangled banner and america the beautiful. god bless america.
Thank you for collecting and compiling all of these! GReat to read on a day like today.
And of course, Happy Independence Day to you and yours!
America the beautiful is an amazing poem that I enjoyed reading. An all round amazing article. Thanks for sharing.
We dont celebrate 4th July in India but last year you explained me about it, I remember. I loved all these poems as they are encouraging, especially Immigrants in Our Own Land By Jimmy Santiago….!
What beautiful hymns and poems
On this fourth of july I’m remembering all of the words from Obama!
I love all of these poems!! Great way to learn about Independence Day!!!
Definitely a nice post to read today remembering those people who sacrifice their lives for us for our liberty and freedom. I agree that we should use our freedom to love and to serve other people.
Wow alot of poems I never knew of or heard of!
I’ve never thought of the famous songs we sing on the 4th as poems! But they are equally beautiful this way!
I love the way that the US celebrates the 4th of July, its such a nationwide party! 🙂
Who knew there were so many 4th July poems!
These poems are well-written and meaningful! Thank you for this post, I had a nice time reading this.
This one of my favorite bible verses: For you have been called to live in freedom. Use your freedom to serve one another in love.” Galatians 5:13
What a great collection of poems you found – I like the ones by Claude McKay and Swami Vivekananda the most 🙂
Am glad you shared it with us..your all poems and these all are really very interesting and amazing to read..Thanks indeed…
Love these poems despite struggling with Independence Day. My dogs are terrified of fireworks, it’s not my favorite.
I love all of these poems! I had no idea there were such a variety of poems about the 4th!!
Celebrating freedom, when many citizens of America aren’t free to do as they choose. Even sleeping in your bed gets you shot. There is still much work to be done in the land of the “free”
July 4th definitely looked different this year. We are at our timeshare on Fort Myers Beach and there are usually crowds of people but it was fairly empty. A lot of the areas around us canceled their shows. But, we still had fun and still celebrated the day together.
Yes, it is a whole new experience for sure.
What a poem, goose bumps here. Happy 4th of July!
4th of July is such a nice holiday. It reminds us of Independence Day! Cheers to freedom and the brave!
It’s great that even in the middle of eveyrthing happening, people are able to celebrate 4th of July.
So much power in these poems. They will never get old.. Happy birthday America!
I love following your articles, had to search for it again to get the link to “America By Allen Ginsberg”. Thank you so very much for all you do.
I had no idea there were so many 4th of July poems. I have always enjoyed the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, thank you for sharing and reminding me how much I enjoy reading poetry.
What an inspiring way to remember 4th of July by lovely poems. Well done!
it was a very sad 4th of July this year, we even did not have any fireworks…
Happy 4th of July Elizabeth! We hope to see see you soon, after covid-19 will be over!
I’m really liking Concord Hymn. With the global pandemic going on I actually forgot about our Independence day. Thanks for sharing these lovely poems.
I hope you all had an awesome 4th of July! I love reading your posts…;)
Great, extensive post! This definitely gives me an impression of the American spirit! 🙂
Happy Fourth of July to you! I enjoy these collages and the poems are all new to me so thanks for the cheery start to my day. Good reminders here too that everyone deserves the same respect in the US. So much has happened this year!
indeed these poems are really very deep and meaningful…Found it very interesting and amazing..glad you shared this with us..Thanks indeed…
I appreciate your thoughtful feedback
Thank you for your thoughtful feedback!
I’ve never read most of these poems! Thanks for sharing
I love the words of Rosa Parks. Indeed freedom is liberating and this is very vital towards maximizing our full potentials
I like how you always find good poems that relate to the celebration or occasion!
Thank you for the wonderful inspiration. I’ve really had a hard time celebrating 4th of July with everything the United States is going through right now.
America the Beautiful has always been one of my favorite poems/songs. Paul Revere’s Ride also holds a special place in my heart–I teach it every winter.
My all time favourite is Concord Hymn By Ralph Waldo Emerson. I was introduced to it by my husband and I’m so excited to see it here. Such a beautiful selection.
I love these poems. My fav thing to do is to watch the fireworks in the sky!
So much information about your independence day
I always look forward to reading your articles. The poems here are very inspirational and motivating. Thank you for sharing this with us.
What a great satisfaction gives you writing poems! And, when your poems awake feelings inside your reader, those are great poems!
Your poems are so lovely. It’s a full book of life. Thanks for your inspiring poems.
You’re always sharing beautiful poems for every occasion!
these are really great poems and such wonderful things to remember around independence day!
Thank you for providing different perspectives on independence day.
These poems are really meaningful and it was a nice read! Thanks for sharing these with us.
This is a great and varied selection of poems on 4th of July. 4th of July was hard this year and this is a great boost.
4th of july in the US is so patriotic and beautiful, its such a party, I love it! In sweden its flags on the public busses, the queen wears a nice dress and gives a speach… thats about it.
Thank you for sharing these beautiful poems. Happy belated independence day!
These are beautiful. Definitely had a different fourth this year but change is good!
It would seem the right reading to reflect and understand, motivate and illuminate one’s soul. Thank you!
Happy Independence Day!
USA will get through COVID-19 just like the rest of the world. God bless America
We don’t celebrate independence day in our home but these are some great poems for those who do.
we had a long weekend celebrating 4th of July, your input on this post meant so much, thanks for sharing
Nice post and such a nice way to remember those people who served their lives for our freedom and liberty and hope that I will be able to use this to serve others no matter what race they have.
I started to read this and found it very interesting, is there a way to make the font a little larger though?
Those poems are beautiful. Thank you for sharing them with us.
I hope your 4th of July was good. Thank you for sharing the history of what the 4th of July.
Happy Independence day to you too!
I love old poems and songs. the emerson and key songs/poems are perfect for any time but especially when so many people want to stomp on one’s patriotism.
Such a great blog! I enjoyed reading so much.
This is a very thoughtful post!
I love this article..The quotes are wonderful.
Thanks for sharing these poems
Very empowering poems! Sometimes, I really sit and wonder about the struggles of those who fought for the independence. Loved this collection
As a blk woman I observe Juneteeth over the Fourth now. This was a good tribute to the 4th holiday.
I had never read any of these but I loved America By Claude McKay. Such a descriptive beauty.
Lovely words. Some of these poems brought a lump to my throat.
Louise x
Thanks for sharing these valuable information about 4th of July. Those poems are very emotional 🙂
great piece, I’m not American but I feel like I know most about American history
Happy 4th July & Happy Independence Day, thanks for sharing as I learnt much more about 4th July 🙂
Such a great post, so many great words!!! thanks fro sharing.
Thank you for these amazing quotes!
What a great thoughts, love to read great poems.
On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
Beautiful poems! happy 4th of July! I can only admire your patriotic feelings
These are all so great! I love the Fourth of July so much, thank you for putting this together.
Was inspired by the 4th July poem. Thanks
The first two lines: O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain – always makes me happy for some reason.
The Fourth of July Parade is cute!
I love this kind of post where it promote love to one another especially this 4th of July celebration. The wisdom coming from the scriptures really defined everything into this, as the word of God is quite the basis that we’re looking for.
Great poems! And it’s always to great to be educated.
This I find very useful. Would come back to learn more about these poems, I have to learn because they are so interesting and motivating.
Happy independent day. America. God bless United States of America
I love the poems, although I struggle with this holiday. Hopefully one day I can be proud of this country again.
Wow 244 years of independence! Happy independence day! I love the poem America By Claude McKay. Thanks for sharing
These are beautiful poems. I think they perfectly capture the spirit of the country. Even with all of our struggles in the past and all the dark parts of our history, we are a great country.
I love this collection. The Concord Hymn is really beautiful. I think they all perfectly capture the spirit of the holiday.
I wish my ancestors were free on this day in 1776. Instead they were enslaved here in the United States with misclassified race and now known as African-Americans instead of the indigenous aborigine natives they were.
Love this what a motivational and inspiring read for sure, I am loving this x
These poems are nice! Glad you shared this with us, thank you!
Those are some wonderful 4th of July poems and they are all beautifully written.
You’re such an inspiration!!! The poems are amazing, thank you thank you thank you….
Such a wide collection of poems for this special day to remember the freedom we’re cherishing. I love quote especially when it’s from the scriptures, they are totally true and with the guidance from above.
I really enjoyed reading this. Thanks for sharing it.
Love immigrants in our own land
These are lovely poems and they are also very inspirational. Thanks for sharing.
I always love celebrating independence day specially with family and love ones. The quotes are very inspiring. Thank you for sharing.
wow. that america poem by ginsberg is so harsh. and the language he chose to use.
I don’t think I’ve ever really thought about 4th of July poems. Going through your list, ‘America the Beautiful’ is the only one that’s familiar to me!
Candy Rachelle
Inspirational and awesome collection of poems. Loved reading them.
These are some interesting poems to read through!
244th?!?!?! Wow, time flies! Haha. I love how you added poetry for the holiday
Freedom is the ultimate goal of the humanity!
Beautiful poems!!
I hope you had a lovely 4th of July. It is definitely a day to remember!
happy 4th! those are great poems.
I never knew the array of 4th of July poems and they are just so lovely and perfect for the occasion. ‘Immigrants in our Own Land’ is a good read.
Fourth of July is a good reminder to treasure our freedom and appreciate what our ancestors did before so we can enjoy what we have now.
Interesting poems. I wish my ancestors could celebrate this but unfortunately they were slaves serving these very same people who at the time they gained their freedom.
Happy Independence Day!!! Nice poetry lines…These are really motivation lines..
Nnniicceeeee….Good Night Poem by Carl Sandburg; I love this!
Indeed! Happy Independence Day. It feels so good to think that we have the freedom to do what we want, express how we feel on something and share our thoughts without the fear of being rejected by someone. It’s our right!
I have a newfound appreciation for the lyrics in patriotic songs. We stayed in for the holiday, and that was fine. My oldest son did come to visit though, and that was a nice surprise. I hope you had a great holiday too.
These are some wonderful July 4th poems! Thank for sharing them with us
What a lovely poems and all..Thanks for sharing them with us..great post indeed…
Our Indpendence is being threatened right now so this has become even more symbolic for me. It is such an important thing to celebrate.
These are all so powerful and moving! Everyone should be reading these lately and realizing Independence Day is so much more than a BBQ and fireworks.
Such an inspiring post, Thank you for sharing.
I can feel the depth of every single thought here, beautifully written. To more motivations to share Ms. Elizabeth!
Another lovely range of poems. Kudos to you on this lovely article.
No flag is just cloth and ink; it wouldn’t be a flag otherwise! It’s great to be free, sadly freedom came with so much pain.
I absolutely loved the poems! They are all worth reading!
Inspiring and motivating poems for the Independence Day. Emotional as well. I immensely enjoyed reading all.
Such a informative and well written article. I never knew about these poems. They are really good. Love the pics too.
Such great poems for the 4th!!! I really enjoyed reading this!
I’m happy to see Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Concord Hymn poem in this post! He’s one of my favorites! ❤️
Loving these poems! I just couldn’t stop reading!
This is such a nice way to celebrate the 4th of july!
So beautiful and inspiring. Thank you.
I love these motivation tips, wonderful!
This is a real nice collection. Bookmarking it.
I really like all these references that made me reflect and read a bit more of our history.
These are some great poems for those that choose to celebrate this holiday.
Is It sad that I never knew that Rosa park quote. Thanks for sharing all these.
Thanks for sharing this, so many great words of wisdom.
I enjoyed the Concord Hymn! Thank you for sharing!
These are excellent poems. I actually hadn’t ever read most of these, so I was really excitied about them.
This day is not only the day of remembering those people who sacrifice their lives for our freedom but this is also the day to remember to serve others due to the freedom that we received.
So many awesome poems/songs to commemorate the 4th! My favorites are definitely the Star Spangled banner and O Beautiful. I always feel good inside when I sing those songs.
Glad you shared these poems with us..Thanks indeed for sharing…
I never thought about 4th of July poems. Reading through theses, I see the only one I know of is America the Beautiful. Thanks for sharing these. Very interesting!
Candy Rachelle
I love these poems, they are so powerful
We don’t celebrate the 4th of July in the UK the way America does, except for this year, when it was the day that pubs and bars reopened 🙂
Wow, it’s funny as I was just watching the national anthem on Youtube before commenting on this, you have shared a lot poems and it’s a good read. Thank you for sharing! – Knycx Journeying
This is a beautiful collection of poems. Love the one from Amy Lowell. Thank you for sharing this. Hope you had a wonderful celebration.
Nice poem collection. They’re pretty inspiring
This is the first year my family and I didn’t celebrate the 4th of July. We celebrated Juneteenth instead.
Beautiful poems.
Even though I am not from the US I learned to appreciate the 4th of july. These poems are beautiful!
Very interesting and inspiring poems. I liked The Fourth of July Parade By Fran Haraway the most
Never would have imagined that there were so many poems commemorating America’s Independence Day but I guess it makes sense being such an important day in our country’s history! I personally love the Good Night Poem by Carl Sandburg that you shared. Did you know that the Star Spangled Banner is the only National Anthem in the world that actually ends in a question? F. Scott Key actually asks the question, “O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave, O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?”
That’s a very interesting point. Makes you wonder if anyone bothers to answer the question? 🙂
I think this post is greatly needed today. The days seem to constantly reverberate with discontentment and disagreements. No one seems to remember that we are all of one nation, but that that nation will not stand in division.
Am glad you shared it with us..your all poems and these all are really very interesting and amazing to read..Thanks indeed…
I am so happy reading the poems you posted here. They are all enticing and indeed inspirational.
Beautiful poems on Independence, its a very sentimental and emotional day for all
Great poems and they are beautifully written, thanks for sharing the inspiration with us 🙂 – knycx journeying
So patriotic, I’m proud to be an American. Even if things get difficult and things aren’t perfect, this is still my homeland.
Love these poems, it’s always good to know the history of your country and to educate others about it, plus independence is a very fun time
This poems are so wonderful. I keep thinking about how the US was founded, its values and how much it has overcome over these centuries and it’s truly amazing. Thank you for reminding us of how much this nation has to offer.
So many great poems to mark 4th of July. These were all new to me but interesting to read.
Thanks so much for sharing the list of poems to celebrate independence, all so amazing wonderful
I love that you included poems that spoke to the nature of America today. It’s great tk be proud of your country but it’s also important to recognise the struggles that it faces then and now.
4th of July is not celebrated here with us but I know a few about it due to movies like independence day etc. Love the poems by the way 🙂