The cry of Freedom
Rings true in hearts of all men
“Set the captives free”
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Have a great Fourth of July!
Stamp Art: Dwight L. Roth
Let Freedom Ring
Fourth of July
Come Fly With Me
Like sardines in a can we waited
for Covid to to be abated
Some wore sweats all day
on their computers with pay
Now many have their shot
Tired of staying home a lot
Fourth of July is coming
Jet engines are now humming
Stamp Art: Dwight L. Roth
Today I wrote a Quadrille of exactly 44 words. The Quadrille was created by d’Verse Poets Pub, which is now on mid summer break for two weeks.
Fireworks
As I looked out my window this evening, I saw my day lilies were aglow with light from the setting sun. Their shape reminded me of the shower of sparks that emanates from the fireworks when they explode in the sky.
Early Fireworks show
Spectacular 4th display
Mid-summer night’s dream
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Happy Fourth of July
Photo: Dwight L. Roth
Call of the Surf
When we are young the idea of dying is far from our minds. That is for old people and those who are sick. Now with Covid-19 running rampant around the world, it again seems it is the aged and sickly who don’t survive. After three months of being confined to our homes sheltering in place, many are ready to get out again. Laying aside social distancing protocol, they shed the masks and party hardy. Between that and the recent protests, with little or no social distancing. new positive test and hospitalizations are on the increase. Some still think it won’t happen to them.
Covid-19 spikes
Many play a deadly game
Surf and Sun beckons
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Celebrate Fourth of July
Invincible youth
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Photo: Dwight L. Roth
When I Think of Freedom
On the Fourth of July many think of freedom as the day we declared our independence from England. It may remind us of those who fought in the revolution and many wars since then. It may mean standing for the National Anthem or Saluting the Flag. But there is an even deeper meaning to freedom, without which all the others lose their significance. Freedom is an attitude, a choice, and a mindset that goes beyond the physical realm.
Freedom to walk with others
Protecting their dignity and pride
Freedom to have courage to speak
When injustice rears its ugly head
Freedom to show kindness
Without expectation
Freedom to believe and have faith
In the manner of our choosing
Freedom to forgive
Releasing hurt and pain
Freedom to say. “I love you!”…
So memories of you will be good one!
Freedom is not physical // it’s a mindset
No one can take away from you
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Photo: Dwight L. Roth
Letters From Philadelphia
Letters From Philadelphia
Ink flowed to paper // quills sharpened for signing
As each man took his turn
Some with small delicate writing
John Handcock with large bold flourish
Big enough for the King to plainly see
Risking life and property they signed
Revolution now at hand they took their stand
Quills continued flowing ink to paper
As letters were sent home announcing the news
Telling what was already known before hand
Postmasters kept busy with the flow
As Letters from Philadelphia marked this day
When a declaration of independence
Changed the future of mankind
At home and abroad
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Happy Fourth of July 2018
Stamp Art Photo: Dwight L. Roth
Fourth of July at Nags Head
We will be celebrating the Fourth of July in a couple of days. Hot summer weather seems to call us to the beach. Sun and surf on ninety degree days seem to be the perfect combination. When our boys were little we made many summer trips to Nags Head and Emerald Isle, North Carolina camping and enjoying the waves. Riding the swells on our blow-up mattresses was always a favorite thing to do. I always carried a shovel which we used to build sand creations. Now thy are grown and have children of their own who they take to the beach and do all the fun things all over again.
Good Times at Nag’s Head
Sand and surf God’s natural sandbox
A place where awe and imagination merge
Watching our two boys chase ebb and flow
Squealing with delight as the surf laps their ankles
Amazing creatures evolve out of the sandy beach
With each shovel full of sand they take shape
Octopus, Sea Turtle, Shark and Whale
All come to life at the hand of their creator
Sand Castles with moats and towered walls
Sit on the edge of destruction
Hot Rod with seat and steering wheel
Roars to life in that three year old mind
Riding the swells on a bubble of air
Feeling the power of the ocean breathing beneath
Waiting for just the right wave
Driving into the shallows
Those were good times, no, great times at Nag’s head
Some forty years ago
Now it’s grandchildren and a new creator
Bringing awe and imagination to life
And that three-year old
Still loves God’s ocean playground
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Photo: Dwight L. Roth
Reposted from my book Ebb and Flow
Fourth of July
When I was growing up the Fourth of July was our time to go visit grandparents and relatives who lived four hours away. It included an extended family picnic in a field along the back mountain, where wonderful dishes of food were spread down the extended table. Home-made ice cream, hand cranked in a wooden bucket filled with ice and rock salt, topped off the meal. A softball game in the pasture field included young and old. It was always a grand time.
A few years ago it occurred to me that Independence may not mean the same thing to all Americans. In America’s past, all men were not created equal in spite of what the was written in the Declaration of Independence. Amazingly, people are resilient and rise up from slavery, hardship, bigotry, and pain to become the people we are today. There is no going back to fix the wrongs that have been done. But we can determine how we will live from here on into the future. It is an ongoing lesson for all of us. This poem originated from those insights.
Fourth of July
When all the fireworks fade into ashes
And the Bar-B-Que grills have cooled
When the wide eyes of the children close in blissful sleep
Do you ever wonder
what Independence Day really means
to the ancestors of African slaves
brought here in the holds of ships
who look back at our forefathers
who bought and sold them
Forefathers who wrote “all men are created equal”
And realize the dark ones were not included
In the words of Thomas Jefferson, “less than human”
Or perhaps to the Native Americans
Who loved the free and open spaces
Only to be run off their lands
Herded like cattle into the desert
Left where summer heat scorched them
and winter snows chilled them to the bone
Where animals were few and crops refused to grow
Were they a part of “All men are created equal?”
No, in the words of our former Presidents
“They are just savages… they were less than human”
Or perhaps to the “Illegal Aliens” who scrub our floors
Pick our fruits and vegetables build our houses
Mow our lawns and mulch our shrubs
Are they part of “All men are created equal?”
No, in the words of many of us
“They are just ‘wetbacks”
“Nameless illegals”
“Who should be sent back where they came from”
Though we may not say it some of us think
They too are less than human
How quickly we forget the dark side…
How soon we lay aside our guilt insult or pain…
We rise as a flower in the sidewalk crack
Stepped on over and over again
Yet we rise and bloom from the strength of our roots
Independence Day is a time to “Bloom”
To draw from the strength of our roots
Not to forget but to move on
To all that we can become
In a land where in God’s eyes
“All men are truly created equal!”
Roth Poetry 