



When I stand before the flag above With the beautiful anthem spilling love The most perfect, imperfect majesty Those stars and stripes call out to me Sweet melodies flow into drums Cymbals crash and tension thrums Each boom and hiss is a squeeze on my shoulder With the rise of each strain, I grow bolder, and bolder... Hotter and colder! Ice into fire Pride on my skin, I begin to transpire Heat and pepper Triumph and glory Musketballs, cannonshots, all things unholy Heartbreak and heatstroke Frostbite and spring Our country hides away in each of these things America is fire America is war America is glistening waves on the shore America is hunger for riches and fame America is courage, grit, and family names I see her there, in the red and blue And wonder if she sees me too... As the anthem keeps chanting my blood runs hot Dreams of shining seas and timber trees and hair tied up in pretty knots Opportunity Equality The land that's spied by men at oar Gold rush River gush The hope that lies on distant shores Revolutions Bold solutions Reaching for the sky America Who never stops Who will never cease to try... She calls to me Like a siren of lore be brilliant! be brave! Be something more. She calls to me She screams for me And this time For the first time... I answer.