~a column by Colleen O’Brien
We were warned that the presidential inauguration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr. would be different, unlike other inaugurations. And they were right. There were hardly any people.
This wasn’t because no one wanted to attend, it was the imperative to distance because of the coronavirus. The Biden Presidential Inaugural Committee managed it well.
There were no crowds on the mall. But there were flags, 200,000 of them, the Field of Flags they called it. Old Glory glowed in patterns of the flag itself and in the shape of the U.S. There were flags for all 50 states and our five territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Marianas, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. There were pillars of light along the sides. It was all a good idea, pretty, obviously patriotic, and of course a lot of waving.
On the West Front of the United States Capitol, where the swearing-in takes place every four years, coronavirus distancing determined the sparse assemblage on the dais itself – scattered behind the swearing-in podium were nominees for Biden’s Cabinet, Congresspeople, most of the Supreme Court justices, some ambassadors to the U.S., friends. Families of the president and vice-president-elects sat together, as did couples, but the rest, like lone Bernie Sanders in mittens and heavy winter work coat, sat alone.
The introductory speeches were okay, the singing was perfectly booming – the powerfully beautiful voices of Lady Gaga singing the National Anthem and Jennifer Lopez singing a rendition of “America the Beautiful” and “This Land Is Your Land.” Garth Brooks asking the entire watching world to sing along with him to “Amazing Grace.” All of these songs often bring tears to my eyes – it happened easily this time.
The new President’s speech was good – intent and sincere as Joe does so well.
But it was a poem that was the star of the day, a poem of such simple magnitude, it rang out in its plain language even more beautifully than our beloved traditional songs sung by pros.
The poem’s 22-year-old author, National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman, did such a touching job writing and delivering the poem that she was asked and honored to do for Joe Biden’s inauguration. I have listened to it several times; it makes my spirit soar. She lifts my heart and my hope, she has me smiling and knowing that this world of ours isn’t all bad, we merely have work to do and that we are capable of it.
My favorite lines:
“And yes, we are far from polished
far from pristine
but that doesn’t mean we are
striving to form a union that is perfect
We are striving to forge a union with purpose
To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and
conditions of man”
The entire poem is worth reading again and again. And if you can, listen (online at “YouTube” or “The Hill”) to Amanda say it all herself – she swoops in and out of her own words like a bird on the wing. Her poem is smart, gracious, beautiful and true; to see and hear her say it is, well, truly poetry in motion.
The Hill We Climb
by Amanda Gorman, who was asked to write and read an inaugural poem for our 46th President, Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
The Hill We Climb
When day comes we ask ourselves,
where can we find light in this never-ending shade?
The loss we carry,
a sea we must wade
We’ve braved the belly of the beast
We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace
And the norms and notions
of what just is
Isn’t always just-ice
And yet the dawn is ours
before we knew it
Somehow we do it
Somehow we’ve weathered and witnessed
a nation that isn’t broken
but simply unfinished
We the successors of a country and a time
Where a skinny Black girl
descended from slaves and raised by a single mother
can dream of becoming president
only to find herself reciting for one
And yes we are far from polished
far from pristine
but that doesn’t mean we are
striving to form a union that is perfect
We are striving to forge a union with purpose
To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and
conditions of man
And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us
but what stands before us
We close the divide because we know, to put our future first,
we must first put our differences aside
We lay down our arms
so we can reach out our arms
to one another
We seek harm to none and harmony for all
Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
That even as we grieved, we grew
That even as we hurt, we hoped
That even as we tired, we tried
That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious
Not because we will never again know defeat
but because we will never again sow division
Scripture tells us to envision
that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree
And no one shall make them afraid
If we’re to live up to our own time
Then victory won’t lie in the blade
But in all the bridges we’ve made
That is the promised glade
The hill we climb
If only we dare
It’s because being American is more than a pride we inherit,
it’s the past we step into
and how we repair it
We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation
rather than share it
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy
And this effort very nearly succeeded
But while democracy can be periodically delayed
it can never be permanently defeated
In this truth
in this faith we trust
For while we have our eyes on the future
history has its eyes on us
This is the era of just redemption
We feared at its inception
We did not feel prepared to be the heirs
of such a terrifying hour
but within it we found the power
to author a new chapter
To offer hope and laughter to ourselves
So while once we asked,
how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?
Now we assert
How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?
We will not march back to what was
but move to what shall be
A country that is bruised but whole,
benevolent but bold,
fierce and free
We will not be turned around
or interrupted by intimidation
because we know our inaction and inertia
will be the inheritance of the next generation
Our blunders become their burdens
But one thing is certain:
If we merge mercy with might,
and might with right,
then love becomes our legacy
and change our children’s birthright
So let us leave behind a country
better than the one we were left with
Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest,
we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one
We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the west,
we will rise from the windswept northeast
where our forefathers first realized revolution
We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states,
we will rise from the sunbaked south
We will rebuild, reconcile and recover
and every known nook of our nation and
every corner called our country,
our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,
battered and beautiful
When day comes we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid
The new dawn blooms as we free it
For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it
If only we’re brave enough to be it
