The American Spirit
(One Voice, 250 Years)
I
Brave loving hearts have helped our nation stand,
though history forgets the giver’s names;
no marble marks the works of helping hands,
but countless lives are strengthened all the same.
A meal that’s shared; a burden freely borne;
a word of hope when someone’s light burns dim;
such simple gifts are quiet armor worn
by those whose rewards come from deep within.
No nation thrives by monuments alone,
nor solely by the victories of might;
its truest greatness quietly is grown
when neighbor answers neighbor in the night.
Important steps, not written in a scroll:
the caring deeds that pass from soul to soul.
II
The caring deeds that pass from soul to soul
become the unseen mortar of the land;
they bind the broken, strengthen every whole,
and join our separate lives with steady hands.
No law compels the generous to give.
No trumpet sounds when mercy lights the way,
yet through such acts our highest ideals live,
renewed by common hearts from day to day.
The smallest kindness seldom walks alone;
its footsteps echo farther than we know.
Each grateful life inspires another’s own,
and streams, combined, into a river’s flow.
These acts of love spread joy where’er they start;
our nation’s strength is measured by its heart.
III
Our nation’s strength is measured by its heart.
‘Tis not by wealth, nor power, nor renown;
but by the countless people, each a part,
who lift each other up instead of down.
For freedom asks of every soul a choice:
To serve oneself, or serve the common good;
and every act of kindness lends its voice
to all the dreams on which our fathers stood.
If we would see tomorrow standing tall,
let gratitude and mercy lead the way;
the greatest gifts are often still and small
yet shape the lives remembered every day.
I hope our children keep this truth at hand:
their loving hearts will help our nation stand.
Dusty Grein is a retired Managing Editor of a small press publishing company—as well as a graphics designer, author, and poet. Originally from Federal Way, Washington, he is a lifetime resident of the Pacific Northwest. His critically acclaimed best-selling novel, The Sleeping Giant, and his first poetry collection, A Mist Shrouded Path, are available in print and as Kindle Select titles. His shorter works and award-winning poetry have been published in several collections, including Chicken Soup for the Soul, OWS Inked, and The Quarterday Review. His blog, From Grandpa’s Heart… is followed by fans around the world.
Brave and beautiful wreath of sonnets, Dusty. Most appropriate form for your theme of the American spirit of kindness that lifts one another up. Nicely worded all through with a number of Scriptural touches. The form, I notice, further supports “togetherness” not only by using first and last lines of each sonnet to link and wreathe the whole, but also by repeating other rhymes or near rhymes. Truly, “common hearts” “join our separate lives with steady hands.”