I walked the city of Washington

Amongst the statues standing still

As cherry blossoms danced on the breeze

Of springtime’s early chill

I shared the morning sunshine

With travelers from across the earth

The cacophony of the songbirds melody

Harmonized along with children’s mirth.

I gazed on marbled monuments

Our forebears, women and of men

I read the words chiseled in the stone

That began “fourscore and ten”.

I coursed among haunting figures

Of soldiers from the Korean war

On Viet Nam’s wall I found the name

Of Stanley, our neighbor who lived next door

World War II’s sparking fountains

Splashed in the sunlight’s stream

I paused in the shadow of a prophet

Who, upon these grounds, said, “I have a dream”

It seemed that everywhere I turned

Was a memory of suffering and strife

Of those who came before and those who still

Struggle for liberty and the happiness of life

My imagination took me to distant lands

Whose nations I’ve visited before

Where despots, dictators and soldiers

Upon their own country do war

America has faults and flaws

Which are evident for all to see

But I’d chose this land over all others

The home of the brave and the free

I hummed along to a Guthrie tune

Of this land that is yours and mine

And prayed God’s favor from sea to sea

And that upon us His face would shine

On a bench far away from the crowds

I whispered a prayer to God above

That He would bless America

This land that I so dearly love.