The following is a transcript of the inaugural poem recited by Elizabeth Alexander, as provided by CQ transcriptions.
Praise song for the day.
Each day we go about our business, walking past each other, catching each others' eyes or not, about to speak or speaking. All about us is noise. All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din, each one of our ancestors on our tongues. Someone is stitching up a hem, darning a hole in a uniform, patching a tire, repairing the things in need of repair.
Someone is trying to make music somewhere with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.
A woman and her son wait for the bus.
A farmer considers the changing sky; A teacher says, "Take out your pencils. Begin."
We encounter each other in words, words spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed; words to consider, reconsider.
We cross dirt roads and highways that mark the will of someone and then others who said, "I need to see what's on the other side; I know there's something better down the road."
We need to find a place where we are safe; We walk into that which we cannot yet see.
Say it plain, that many have died for this day. Sing the names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce, built brick by brick the glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of.
Praise song for struggle; praise song for the day. Praise song for every hand-lettered sign; The figuring it out at kitchen tables.
Some live by "Love thy neighbor as thy self."
Others by first do no harm, or take no more than you need.
What if the mightiest word is love, love beyond marital, filial, national. Love that casts a widening pool of light. Love with no need to preempt grievance.
In today's sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun.
On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp -- praise song for walking forward in that light.
3 comments:
This poem has a very good message and its words are uplifting, but if I am being 100% honest I do believe that Elizabeth's poem is nothing compared to Obama's speech. I don’t think she read it as strong as she could have. Maybe it would have been catchier if she read it with a little more emotion. However, I would hate to be in her position because it would be hard for anyone to follow up with any sort of speech after Obama. I say this because not many people can sum up to the emotions and the power his voice holds. I don't think that her poem was one of the best but I do think it was good and she was under a lot of pressure to do well. I give her Kudos on being brave enough to read it but if I'm criticizing, it's just not one of those poems that really stick in your head. I am simply saying it is not so memorable. I am not saying by any means the poem wasn't good. Again she was under a lot of pressure and was to perform in front of millions and millions of people. I think if she would have spent a little more time on it then it would have been better thought out and worded. I’ve read her poems before and she’s very talented. I guess I just expected more. I do again give her applause because it was I’m sure very hard to follow Obama’s speech and still meet the expectations but I did think it was good…..just not amazing.
I think this poem was very good for the inauguration. It was very detailed and made people think about how they run their lives. The only thing was, it seemed to be longer than Obama's first speech! Plus, the prayer that had the rhyming in it (yellow-mellow, etc-if you remember it) was just as insightful. It may not have been as much about the inauguration, but I did quite enjoy the rhyming in that as well. The poem was very insightful, but I enjoyed hearing the people laugh and be lighthearted during the prayer. Some things can't be 100% serious all the time.
I liked this poem, but I don't think it really connected with Obama's speech. The poem focused more on human concepts and everyday life than of our future and the hope it's supposed to bring us. I guess what I mean is that, this poem isn't really so focused on America as a nation, and you could apply it to any developed country.
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