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Vernon Waring Jun 2015
I'm the face on a Norman Rockwell cover
and a nameless soldier honored
in a single noble tomb

You see me -
a fearful face in a
sea of fearful faces,
a part of those huddled masses
yearning to breathe free.
Armed with dreams and apprehensions,
I wave to the majestic lady in the harbor,
her torch warming my hopeful heart.

You stand with me
in the stillness of Arlington,
a grieving parent
clutching a folded flag,
remembering my fallen child.

And you listen to the sounds I love -
the music of a marching band
on the Fourth of July,
a rhapsody by Gershwin,
the soul of Bourbon Street jazz,
the roar of rock.

You know me.

From sea to shining sea,
I am America.
You are America.
God shed His grace on thee.
Vernon Waring Jun 2015
mix the numbers up
fill the lottery card out
give the girl five bucks
grab that slip of paper
clutch that sliver of hope

now you hold the possibility
in your veiny freckled hand

god knows it could be
a passport to riches
a path to paradise
a ticket to eden

or is it more than money's lure
this scrap of computerized pulp

it should flare like a strip of lightning
this invitation to rapture
this portal to freedom
this license to dream

— The End —