anthem

I am not content to be content. Not today,

Tomorrow, or after the leaves fall. In my way,

I am restless: eager to grow, eager to learn,

To find in each season a lesson, in turn.

I will use all the words that flow from my pen

To fight for the rights of less fortunate men:

To speak for the speechless and give them a voice,

To give hope to the hopeless – to offer a choice

Between mute resignation and mast’ry of fate.

I will change and will grow, for it’s never too late

To gain the momentum to move the world forward.

No, I will not be one to turn his gaze upward,

To look at the stars, affixed there in the sky,

And to not wonder how, and to not wonder why,

And to not wonder when, and to not wonder where,

And to not wonder who might be living out there.

I will live on the moon and will sail through the stars -

Out past Saturn, past Venus, past Neptune and Mars.

No wint’ry discontent will keep me Earth-bound.

I will bloom in the light of the sun circling ‘round.

I will soar through the sky like a bird on the wing.

I will laugh, I will dance, I will cry, I will sing.

I will love and I’ll hurt and I’ll live through the pain,

Then I’ll open my heart and I’ll do it again.

And, if all of my dreams do not come to pass,

I won’t sigh, I won’t pout, I won’t mutter, “Alas,”

For I dreamt and I strove and I gave it my best

Before settling down to a long-deserved rest.