<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div><span></span></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 16px/normal Helvetica; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3">Pity The Nation </font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 16px/normal Helvetica; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>(After Khalil Gibran)</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 22px; "><br></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Times; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Helvetica">Pity the nation whose people are sheep,</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Times; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Helvetica">and whose shepherds mislead them.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Times; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Helvetica">Pity the nation whose leaders are liars, whose</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Times; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Helvetica">sages are silenced,</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Times; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Helvetica">and whose bigots haunt the airwaves.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Times; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Helvetica">Pity the nation that raises not its voice,</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Times; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Helvetica">except to praise conquerors and acclaim the bully</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Times; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Helvetica">as hero</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Times; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Helvetica">and aims to rule the world with force and by</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Times; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Helvetica">torture.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Times; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Helvetica">Pity the nation that knows no other language but</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Times; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Helvetica">its own</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Times; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Helvetica">and no other culture but its own.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Times; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Helvetica">Pity the nation whose breath is money</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Times; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Helvetica">and sleeps the sleep of the too well fed.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Times; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Helvetica">Pity the nation--oh, pity the people who allow</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Times; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Helvetica">their rights to erode</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Times; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Helvetica">and their freedoms to be washed away.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Times; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Helvetica">My country, tears of thee, sweet land of liberty.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Times; min-height: 23px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Helvetica"><br></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Times; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Helvetica" size="3"><span style="font: 12.0px Times"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span>- Lawrence Ferlinghetti</font></div></div></body></html>