You Sing Your Country's Anthem Poem by Francis Duggan

You sing your Country's anthem and you wave your Country's flag
And of Olympic medals won by your Nation's athletes you like to have your brag
But come tomorrow morning no wealthier you will be
Though you have cheered on strangers to their greatest victory.

They may be your countrymen and women that you cheered on to fame
But to you they are strangers and all strangers are the same
For a stranger is a person you cannot claim to know
And in a stranger's glory wise people do not crow.

When you wave your Country's colours what does that signify
Could it be that you are telling us that you are not as good as I
Our Nation's athletes have won many medals and your's have none to show
Is one great because they can run faster though in some ways they are slow?

You sing your Country's anthem and on the flag pole in your front yard you fly
The colours of your Nation in hope that every passer by
Will look up at the flag and say how wonderful you are
Patriotism is your blindfold but the wise always see far.