Standing on the shore I see,



What Our Flag Means to Me:

Standing on the shore I see,

Tall sails far above the ocean waves,

As pilgrims longing to be free,

Seek a land that’s home for the brave.

Amidst their suffering and pain,

They searched bravely day & night,

Looking for that blessed plane,

Where wrong is prevailed by right.

As land they found and home they made,

The Pilgrims became pioneers,

Building, planting, living: here they stayed,

America was young in years.

As the colonists proclaimed our declaration,

“United States” we became,

Resolving by one great resolution,

To live and die the same.

Through a season of conflict and of change,

America’s hope and faith remained,

As battles were won and a war was waged,

A symbol was needed, our unity to maintain.

Not just any symbol could represent our land,

America needed one that all people could really understand.

In 1777, Congress passed a combined resolution,

Declaring that stars & stripes were the solution.

For this great symbol was not made for show,

It was created so that others might know,

That life and liberty live on still today,

In this land where happiness is pursued always.

As we consider the red, white and blue,

We must remember the colors mean something too.

Red is for courageous and valiant men,

Who have given their lives and would give them again.

White is for the innocent and free,

Those who love life and liberty,

Childhood and youth will quickly pass,

But freedom and purity will forever last.

Blue is for the best thing of all,

That gives us vision to rise and not fall,

It shows the American spirit of bravery,

To do our best and never retreat quickly.

In the years that have passed,

Since the first 13 starred flag,

Our country has grown,

And much change we have known.

Generations of men, valiant and brave,

Have given their all our country to save.

From wars and hardships both great and small,

From depressions and ruin that have threatened us all.

Our flag itself has also grown too,

As 50 stars now almost cover the blue,

A star for each state that has joined our great nation,

A tribute to unity, our great aspiration.

So for over 200 years since our flag’s first conception,

Old Glory has remained and so has our protection.

It has watched in majestic silence,

As we’ve made choices and searched for guidance.

It has been with us as we fought against each other,

During the great “civil” war on our brothers.

It has flown in wars far across the seas,

In France, Asia and Germany.

It was with us as we built great highways,

Established cities and flew planes far away.

It was part of our historic flight to the moon,

And there it has stayed hoping we’ll come back soon.

And it flew sadly, at half-mast, that terrible day,

When the Twin Towers fell and fear filled our ways,

But through it all our flag has remained,

Witnessing history again and again.

It has been resolved that on our hallowed plane,

These honored dead shall not have died in vain,

And when with one force Americans rally round,

Beneath our flag to say with resolute sound,

“I pledge allegiance to the flag, of the United States of America,

And to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God,

Indivisible with liberty and justice for all.”

Our flag is honored, may it never fall.

And so, as I stand ‘neath my beloved flag today,

For the past, present and future, I proudly say,

Our flag means so much to you and me,

May it fly unendingly, from sea to shining sea.

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