Daily Prompt: Country – Our America by Shannon Holloway

Submitted for the Daily Prompt: Country

In 2008, when my daughter was in the 5th grade, she had the opportunity to submit a poem for a compilation published by the America Library of Poetry.  Although she did not win any of the awards, she was published in Brilliance 2008 Poetry Collection.

I am sure you can understand that my husband and I were very proud when we were told she would be published.  Who wouldn’t be?  We had already been proud of the actual poem.  When we received our copy of the published compilation, we quickly turned to the index to find out what page we would find her poem.  It was so exciting to turn to page 73.  When we turned to the page, it was a little bit of a let down.  Don’t get me wrong, we were still excited that she was published but since the publishing was completely out of the control of my daughter and her teacher, the format of the poem was all wrong.  The format of the lines were all wrong.  Lines that should be separate were placed on the same line and they corrected grammar that didn’t need to be corrected and in such a way that the meaning of one part was changed.  Much of her intentions about the poem were about how it looked visually and that was lost completely.

Today, I want to right a publishing wrong.  Here is how it should have been published.

Our America

by Shannon Holloway

Freedom

and liberty

be whoever you want

to be

50 stars and 13 stripes

a country with

history

Long ago this place was a

mystery

first we were an English colony

We said we wanted

to be free

the king agreed eventually

The king idea was much

hated

so the president was

created

A new nation this deserves a

celebration

here America is

born

A land of the

free

and a home of the

brave