We pray for the republic - William Johnson Everett

[Lawrence Robinson]

We pray for the republic

where each voice is heard speaking freely from the heart,
where each ear is bent upon the task of understanding,
where the stranger finds a refuge,
where each will is striving for the common good,
where the trees are arching overhead with healing leaves,
where the creatures of the earth sustain an ancient symphony,
where mothering arms embrace each babe in promise,
where muscled arms protect the vulnerable from storms,
where the young imagine worlds beyond their songs,
where egoism finds its bounds in solemn covenants,
where the floor is paved with foot-worn facts,
where amnesia is wrapped in gracious memory,
where fear is swallowed up in hope, hatred‘s venom drained by love.
where the blood of its defenders paints the crimson sky of dawn.
We pray for that republic.
Come, Beloved Republic, come.

	- William Johnson Everett