We watched on TV on the Capital steps
The PBS program, a full celebration
Of our independence as grand as it gets
And that thirteen colonies grew to this nation
Before that great document was promulgated
The governed were void of inalienable rights
All rights were by birthright as royalty stated
Or granted by royalty who ruled by might
With Jefferson’s lead, based on Locke and on Hume
That rights of Life, Liberty, Pursuing Happiness
Become inalienable, once one assumes
They’re granted as birthrights through God’s graciousness
It took lots of courage for these fledgling colonies
So treasonously to declare independence
From then the most powerful empire, soon enemy
This declaration: our honored remembrance
Our people have fought and have died for these rights
They’ve made us the greatest of nations on Earth
I’m proud as a veteran defending our might
We’re three generations of vets who have served
I look to the future, a new human nature
Where wars among nations become obsolete
And mutual respect then exists among cultures
Inalienable rights for all people complete
7/4/17
