A Nation’s Strength

George Washington Monument, 2011, Jeniffer Sams, Washington D. C.

What makes a nation’s pillars high

And its foundations strong?

What makes it mighty to defy

The foes that round it throng?

It is not gold. Its kingdoms grand

Go down in battle shock;

Its shafts are laid on sinking sand,

Not on abiding rock.

Is it the sword? Ask the red dust

Of empires passed away;

The blood has turned their stones to rust,

Their glory to decay.

And is it pride? Ah, that bright crown

Has seemed to nations sweet;

But God has struck its luster down

In ashes at his feet.

Post Office in Washington D. C. , 2011, Jeniffer Sams

Not gold but only men can make

A people great and strong;

Men who for truth and honor’s sake

Stand fast and suffer long.

Brave men who work while others sleep,

Who dare while others fly...

They build a nation’s pillars deep

And lift them to the sky.

Reflecting Pond, 2011, Jeniffer Sams, Washington D.C.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1904) 

Our country is amazing because our people are amazing. Happy 4th of July, A Girl Named Fred.

obtained from http://poetry.about.com/od/poems/l/blemersonnationsstrength.htm