January 20, 2021 (Excert from "The Hill We Climb")
"...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. ...
...When day comes, we step out of the shade aflame and unafraid.
The new dawn balloons 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."
--Amanda Gorman
N.B. written as I heard it and may contain an error or two
