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Oliva Cruz Monell wrote this poem as a tribute to the flag of the United States of America on Flag Day, June 14, 2022.
Dream To Achieve!
At daylight’s trace
We all begin the daylong race
When bugles tell
“the morning’s here, and all is well.”
Our Flag unfolds
as once again our eyes behold
its heraldry
with military pageantry.
Firm hands holding
its canton, while Flag unfolding,
with pomp attached
with solemnity unmatched
to upper hoist
its place of honor
on the cord.
The Union; fifty small white, five-pointed stars on a blue background; one for each State.
The Field; thirteen horizontal rows of red and white;
one for each of the British colonies that sought independence as their right.
Our Flag, smartly hoisted to the pole top,
as it unfurls and majestically undulates
in the gentle morning breeze,
gives assertion to foes and friends
as it stipulates, Democracy lives.
As I attentively watch
such splendor at sunrise,
with squared back shoulders,
right hand upon my pounding heart,
pride-filled chest,
daring to dream
this Land is my Land.
For over two hundred and twenty-five years
the American Flag
has captured the power and glory
of our Nation,
a symbol of freedom and justice
for Americans and all who
swore an oath
of loyalty to its history;
a source of pride and unity.
The “Stars and Stripes” is
a symbol of our Sovereignty.
It is stipulated and highly manifested
that the American Flag by us not be disrespected.
The Flag is not to touch the ground
or be dipped, or body bound.
Handle with decorum in any forum.
Our compass of moral ethics mandates;
no, dictates a patriotic high
for which millions fight and thousands die.
Remember the symbolic meaning
of the colors of “Old Glory.”
White is for purity and innocence,
red is for hardiness, and valor
blue is for vigilance, perseverance, and justice.
If we dream it and believe it, we can achieve it.
Oliva Cruz Monell
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