Oh say, can you see? I am still waving at you. Raised to represent the freedom for which you live, I boast of your unity as I fly proudly over your Capital, your courthouses, schools and homes. I bring hope to the captive. I cover your fallen.

My red stripes are the streams of blood, shed by your brave who now lie under me. My stars are the twinkle in your children’s eyes. My white stripes are the bandages you’ve wrapped ‘round your wounded and my navy patch is the sky where One beyond the stars is holding you accountable for the freedom for which I stand.

For over two hundred years I’ve gazed at your triumphs, your struggles and your nakedness. Your battles have changed since I first stood guard over you. You once fought for independence as a country, now you fight for independence from each other.

Your accomplishments have been great. You’ve dazzled the world with your knowledge and ingenuity. You’ve lent a hand to the poor and the oppressed. Your voice has been heard on the soil of every nation on the planet and all have marveled at the grace bestowed upon you.

Yet your children hardly recognize me. Those who raised me in battle and marched me proudly before their troops are fading away. Those who now raise me make my colors a symbol of greed.

But amidst the rockets red glare of hate and the bombs bursting in your streets and schools, my stars and stripes still fly. Gaze up at me once again, take a long look, for freedom is not past tense—it is a daily battle over the evil that threatens the freedom for which I stand. The proof through your night, America, is that I’m still there, look at me once again by the dawn’s early light.