I Am An American!

At the end of this special day commemorating the birth of our country, I'd like to share a favorite poem that has been special to me since elementary school. My fifth grade class memorized this poem for a program and even at a young age, it touched my heart.

I AM AN AMERICAN

I am an American . . . listen to my words. Listen well, for my country is a strong country and my message is a strong message.

I am an American . . . and I speak for democracy and the dignity of the individual.

I am an American . . . and my ancestors have given their blood for freedom:

On the green at Lexington and the snow at Valley Forge,

On the walls of Fort Sumter and the fields at Gettysburg,

On the waters of the Marne and in the shadows of the Argonne,

On the Beachheads of Salerno and Normandy and the sands of Okinawa,

On the bare, bleak hills called Pork Chop and Old Baldy and Heartbreak Ridge,

A million and more of my countryman have died for freedom. I am an American . . . and my country is their eternal monument.

I am an American . . . and my ancestors have bequeathed to me:

The laughter of a small boy as he watches a circus clown's antics,

The sweet, delicious coldness of the first bite of peppermint ice cream on the 4th of July,

The little tenseness of a baseball crowd as the umpire calls "Batter up",

The high school band's rendition of The Stars and Stripes Forever in the Memorial Day parade,

The clear, sharp ring of a school bell on a crisp Fall morning.

These and many other things they fought for and left for me. I am an American . . . and the fruits of my thought and labor are mine to enjoy.

I am an American . . . and in my churches and homes everyone worships God in his own way:

The young Jewish boy saying "Hear, O Israel, the Lord is one",

The Catholic girl praying "Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee",

The Protestant boy singing "A Mighty Fortress is our God",

Each one believing and praying as he must,

And all joining in the universal prayer "Our Father, who art in Heaven",

With the voice in the soul of every human being that cries out to be free.

I am an American . . . and I believe that America has answered that voice.

I am an American . . . and my happy land is a land of many realms and mansions:

It is the land of Ohio corn and potatoes and pastures,

It is the realm of hundreds of acres of golden wheat stretching across the flat miles of Kansas,

It is the land of precision assembly lines in Detroit,

It is the realm of milling cattle in the stockyards of Chicago,

It is the land of glowing skylines of Pittsburgh and Birmingham; of San Francisco and New York.

And in my churches and homes are the mansions of heaven.

I am an American . . . and the love of God has made me free.

I am an American . . . and my country offers freedom and opportunity such as no land before her has ever done:

Freedom to work, as merchant or truck driver,

Freedom to think, as chemist or lawyer, as docter or priest,

Freedom to love, as child, as parent, sweetheart, husband, wife,

Freedom to speak, to pray, to read, to argue, to praise, to criticize,

Freedom to eat and sleep, to work and play, without fear,

Freedom to live one or two-hundred million different lives.

I am an American . . . and my heritage is of the land of the spirit, of the heart and of the soul!

I am an American . . . and these are my words. Show me now a country greater than my country, a people happier than my people.

I am an American . . . I speak for democracy and the dignity of the individual.

*Elizabeth Ellen Evans