For America 2016 Poem by Keith Shorrocks Johnson

Are you downcast? Be brave, stop to listen
To a young woman playing her guitar,
Singing as the freeway car lights glisten
Misted windows on the bus to Georgia

For rich and poor she has no preference
This is a girl who loves the earth and sun
And will not shift her gaze in deference.
She is your poem and it has just begun:

She hates tyrants, she lives for others,
Knows justice is always in jeopardy,
Verses the hopes of children and mothers,
Marks time for the stupid and crazy.

She respects hard work and intelligence
Gives freely of her income and effort
Treats all with patience and indulgence
Believes only what life itself has taught.

Open and light-hearted, she earns her way
She despises easy riches and wealth
Disputes with none yet has her say,
Values each season, rejoices in health.

Listen again as rain falls and signs pass
Even at her worst, she aims for the best
She knows defeat and storms can never last
And riding home she settles back to rest.