The Presidential Inaugural Poem: Calling Us to Our Touchstones

                                                                    “When power corrupts, poetry cleanses”

        ~ John F. Kennedy

 

Amanda Gorman captured the nation with her recitation of “The Hill We Climb” at President Biden’s inauguration last month. The Presidential Inaugural Poem is a relatively new thing in the United States.  There have only been six in our history, and they have all occurred in my lifetime.  The first inaugural poem, “The Gift Outright,” was recited by Robert Frost at John F. Kennedy’s inauguration. I may have seen it – our family watched the inauguration on TV. At six years of age, I cannot claim to remember it, but I do remember that it was my first realization that there was a president of the United States and that it is a pretty big deal.

I can say that I have eagerly tuned in to hear each inaugural poem since. There was no poetry at inaugurations after Robert Frost’s 1961 poem until Bill Clinton’s inauguration in 1993. Clinton said that when he decided that he wanted a poem, he knew right away that he would ask Maya Angelou, who grew up in Stamps, Arkansas not far from his hometown of Hope. Miller Wiliams read a poem at Clinton's second inauguration. After that, there was another hiatus of poetic voices until Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009 when Elizabeth Alexander read “Praise Song for the Day.”

That first inaugural poem by Robert Frost began with an embarrassingly bumbling beginning. Frost was famous in the American literary field and his work was known by every school child. Kennedy had asked him to read “The Gift Outright,” unless he wanted to write one for the occasion. Mr. Frost did, indeed, compose a new poem, “Dedication,” and went to the podium to read it. The blustery wind and the bright sun that day made it impossible for the 86-year-old poet to make out what he had written. Finally, he put the paper aside and recited from memory “The Gift Outright,” and the bumbling grandpa then rose to his full poetic stature.

Because it has been so important for me to hear these inaugural poems, I wanted to bring them all together to hear again what the poets spoke to the nation. I wanted to place myself again in that liminal space where poetry can enliven, or as John F. Kennedy put it in his address at the dedication of the Robert Frost Library at Amherst:

When power narrows the areas of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses, for art establishes the basic human truths which must serve as the touchstones of our judgment.

I have assembled each of the Presidential Inaugural Poem events here for your viewing. If you take the time to watch and listen, you can get a sense of the role of the poet in the public square and you can see how that poetic voice has changed over the years, reflecting the dynamic interplay between poetry and society. We can also see what JFK described as “the richness and diversity of [our] existence.”

First, there is Robert Frost, the aging poet who honored the nation’s youngest president with a poem that in retrospect is perhaps a vestige of the patriarchy that went unquestioned from the time of our “founding fathers” to the new day that would be heralded by a young JFK (who still referred to “areas of man’s [sic] concern”). Then we see Maya Angelou opening up the national vista to reflect the growing awareness of the diversity of people who inhabit our land.

By the time we get to Amanda Gorman’s bright poem, we see a poet in her youth celebrating the inauguration of our oldest elected president. Her poem exemplifies how spoken word artists have influenced the way poetry is delivered to the public.

If you want to read the texts of each inaugural poem, you can go the compilation at TheLiterary Hub. 

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Photo credit: Gorman Photo by Alex Wong (Getty Images) Frost photo is from a Los Angeles Times File Photo

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Here are the Presidential Inaugural Poems in order of occurrence:

1961 Robert Frost, "The Gift Outright"

1993 Maya Angelou, "On the Pulse of Morning" 

1997 Miller Williams, "Of History and Hope" 

2009 Elizabeth Alexander, "Praise Song for the Day" 

2013 Richard Blanco, "One Today" 

2021 Amanda Gorman, "The Hill We Climb"

 

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A Time of Burning

"Mourning a disappearing world as Australia burns"

(Headline from The Globe and Mail)

A Time of Burning

“Some say the world will end in fire,” the poet, Frost has said.

Though he also offered the possibility of ice,

World’s end was nevertheless the given.

Talking about final days has often been a pastime

for those with time on their hands.

They could speak of it and move on in comfort

just as one may exit the theater for ice cream

after a harrowing horror show on the big screen.

“No Exit” was seen by Sartre

and then seen by many on stage.

Even when the prophets speak

we have always managed to find

at least a restroom

and assurance that the world outside still waits.

There comes a time of burning

when the old ways pass.

Instead of quietly fading

like an old cover from

The Saturday Evening Post,

The known world is consumed by fire.

Angry fire,

Cleansing fire,

Raging fire…

It all depends on perspective.

There was a time

when men at war

under enemy fire

Sang longingly

to keep the home fires burning.

Today 

our greatest hope is in catastrophe.

We could not hear the warnings

while living in ease.

World’s end seemed a fantasy,

or a fearful cry of

Fringe environmental zealots.

If we can survive catastrophe,

perhaps a new day will dawn.

If not,

perhaps creation can rest

from her struggles.

~ Charles Kinnaird

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Photo credit: Adam Stevenson / Reuters - A kookaburra perches on a burnt tree in the aftermath of a bushfire in Wallabi Point, Australia, on Nov. 12, 2019.
From The Globe and Mail, "Mourning a disappearing world as Australia burns"



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Southern Snowfall

Stopping by Publix on a Snowy Evening

(with apologies to Robert Frost)

Whose shelves these are I think I know

He lives in a corporate village though;

He will not mind me stopping here

Among his aisles well-stocked for snow.

My little truck will have to suffice

Parked out on that sheet of ice

Between the store and busy street

In weather that comes but once or twice.

It gave a little sputter out there

As if to show machines can swear.

Other sounds include the sweep

Of people's footsteps as they hoard their share.

The shelves now look empty, wide, and deep,

But I have milk and bread to keep,

And videos to watch before I sleep,

And videos to watch before I sleep.

                                        ~ Charles Kinnaird              

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Photo: Vulcan Park, Birmingham, Alabama January 2013 - a rare snowfall (photo by Miss Sophie)

          (Found on Pinterest)

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"Where Everybody Knows Your Name"

    "Life does not accommodate you, it shatters you."

                                                                                    ~ Florida Scott-Maxwell

                                                                                   (from The Measure of My Days)

Last week one of the TV stations was running back-to-back episodes of the 1980s comedy series, Cheers.  I was busy with other things so I wasn’t attending to the program, but each time I heard the theme song, something glad arose inside. That was part of the attraction of the series. Not only was the writing excellent and the acting from the ensemble cast top notch, the theme song effectively gave us the gestalt of the fictional bar in Boston.  When the series originally aired, I tried to catch it each week, and I would always listen to the theme song that began and ended each episode. For some reason, listening to the theme was just as important as watching the episode.

We Need Community

That Cheers theme reminded us of the need for community. It reminded us that when life throws us a curve, when disappointments abound, it is important to have a place to go “where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.” None of us escapes hardship in this life. No one is immune to misfortune. That is why it is important to have a community we can turn to.

What’s more, even in the good times we cannot do what we need to do to have a good life without help from others.  There are numerous things I cannot do for myself and would not even know where to start. For example, I like to bake.  One day it occurred to me that even though I rely upon baking soda for many recipes, I had no idea where it comes from. If other people were not producing it and packaging it, my life in the kitchen would be sorely limited.  

There are numerous other examples of how we all need others for everyday living: flipping the light switch, turning the water faucet, setting the thermostat in the room, placing the garbage out on the curb – all represent actions which require a host of others to make work properly.  Yet these are just everyday factors that occur and we seldom see any of the people who make those things happen. Our real sense of belonging comes from the people with whom we interact face-to-face, the people we personally connect with. They are our family, our community, our strength and our support.

Finding Community, Creating Family

We all have those days when life deals a cruel blow – an accident on the road, an illness, or a family tragedy.  Maybe it is a betrayal, a job loss, or turn of events that seems to make the bottom fall out. Those are the days when community and friendship are all the more important.  I hope you have that community. From my experience community occurs in two ways: it arises and it is sought out.

For most of us, though we have a family of origin, we also have a family of our own choosing. Sometimes the family of origin is fraught with so much baggage and unnecessary expectations, that one cannot find that support that is needed. Robert Frost famously wrote in his poem, “The Death of a Hired Man” that “Home is the place where, when you go have to there, they have to take you in.” Certainly, that is important to remember, but we also need that family that is there to cheer us on and support us, not just to take us in if they have to. That is where we find our true community and our true family.

That true community will often just arise out of out friendships and contacts. Community, however, is too important not to be sought out.  Some find that community at church. Some find it in their neighborhood (though our modern neighborhoods are becoming places of isolation where we may be living in the company of strangers).  Others find community in service organizations, civic clubs or in community projects. Your community could be a reading group, a choir or a Bible study group.

Whatever your community is, wherever you find family, be sure to nourish it during the good times so you will have someone to turn to in the bad times. On any given day, good or bad, it’s always good to go “where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came. You wanna be where you can see our troubles are all the same. You wanna be where everybody knows your name.”

The State of our Union – a Mixed Bag of Hope

A Brief Look at President Barack Obama's Second Inaugural Address and the State of the Union Speech

Capitol Hill  (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Within the span of a few weeks I have twice heard what I consider to be inspiring words from President Barack Obama. I hope that anyone who feels differently about the president’s remarks will bear with me for this short space, because I am not entirely on board as far as political enthusiasm goes yet there are some reasons for me to have hope.

When poet Robert Frost visited Washington D.C. late in his life, he was making some comments at a public gathering. He said that some people wondered what his political affiliation was. He told the group that he had never stated it publicly, “but if you read what I write, you’ll know that I’m a Democrat.” After a brief pause, he added, “But I haven’t been happy since 1896!”  In my case,  I have never joined a political party, but readers of this blog will know where my sympathies usually lie.

I will never forget that night watching the Democratic convention in the summer of 2004 when an unknown Barack Obama delivered the key note address.  He declared that “there is not a liberal America and a conservative America — there is the United States of America. There is not a black America and a white America and Latino America and Asian America — there's the United States of America. The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I've got news for them, too: We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don't like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States, and, yes, we've got some gay friends in the Red States. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq.”

As he continued with his speech I said to my wife, “this guy could one day be our president!” I did not imagine that that day would come as soon as it did. Fast forward a bit and you see the harsh realities of governing in a land that is polarized by ideologies and political gamesmanship.  Even Obama’s greatest achievement in passing healthcare legislation was, in my opinion, not nearly what could or should have happened. But then, there is the reality of governing and moving things forward when there is intractable opposition.

The Second Inaugural Address

Now as we stand at the beginning of a second presidential term, I continue to have some hope, but I also have some reservations. We’ll do the hope part first: The president’s second inaugural address was one that was full of light and hope. Here are some statements that stood out for me:

“This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience. A decade of war is now ending. An economic recovery has begun. America's possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands: youth and drive; diversity and openness; an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention. My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it - so long as we seize it together.”

“For we remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty, and parents of a child with a disability had nowhere to turn. We do not believe that in this country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few. We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us, at any time, may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm. The commitments we make to each other - through Medicare, and Medicaid, and Social Security - these things do not sap our initiative; they strengthen us. They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great.”

“We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war.”

The State of the Union Address

Inaugural addresses are supposed to be a unifying vision statement of where we would like to be as a nation. The state of the union address which has become an annual affair in modern times is not without ceremonial value, but it is also part of the president’s constitutional duty to report to the congress as to the state of the union. It tends to be more of a platform to outline the political policies that the president would like to see enacted.

The president’s state of the union address last Tuesday was, once again, an inspirational speech that gave me cause for hope. I liked, for example, the president’s statement that we should decide to finally listen to what science is telling us about climate change, and that if congress did not act for the good of the environment, then he would take presidential action. [Side bar statement: I am old enough to remember watching with great concern as a sixth-grader the news reports about trees dying in the hills of Los Angeles due to smog, and Lake Erie periodically catching on fire due to the amount of pollution in its waters. I witnessed the country respond to those crises by enacting legislation to curb the pollution of our air and water until we saw trees thriving again in California and the waters of Lake Erie running clear again. I wonder why we cannot respond today with that same kind of national purpose to do what is needed for the environment.]

For me, the most moving moment was when the President began to talk about the victims of gun violence who deserved a vote. People were standing and applauding, and he continued to speak above the applause with a litany of individuals who deserved a vote on reducing gun violence in our country.  There was also the call to improve our voting system so that no one’s voice is suppressed by having to wait long hours just to cast a vote. These are both significant ideals because it is the vote, not the gun that will make us safe.

The president also talked about getting our troops out of Afghanistan, and I am always glad to hear about the de-escalation of war. As he talked about our national defense in light of terrorism, however, I detected what could end up being the president’s most dangerous policy, and even a continuing blight upon his presidency:

Today, the organization that attacked us on 9/11 is a shadow of its former self. Different al Qaeda affiliates and extremist groups have emerged – from the Arabian Peninsula to Africa. The threat these groups pose is evolving. But to meet this threat, we don’t need to send tens of thousands of our sons and daughters abroad, or occupy other nations. Instead, we will need to help countries like Yemen, Libya, and Somalia provide for their own security, and help allies who take the fight to terrorists, as we have in Mali. And, where necessary, through a range of capabilities, we will continue to take direct action against those terrorists who pose the gravest threat to Americans.

As we do, we must enlist our values in the fight. That is why my Administration has worked tirelessly to forge a durable legal and policy framework to guide our counterterrorism operations. Throughout, we have kept Congress fully informed of our efforts. I recognize that in our democracy, no one should just take my word that we’re doing things the right way. So, in the months ahead, I will continue to engage with Congress to ensure not only that our targeting, detention, and prosecution of terrorists remains consistent with our laws and system of checks and balances, but that our efforts are even more transparent to the American people and to the world.

The president did not use the term “drone warfare” but he talked about “a range of capabilities” to “take direct action against those terrorists who pose the gravest threat.”  He also alluded to the questionable legality of the use of drones by promising to keep congress informed because “I recognize that in our democracy, no one should just take my word that we’re doing things the right way.”

Predator Drone (U.S. Air Force photo)

If the question had not been raised about the country’s use of drones in the Middle East, the president may not have even addressed counterterrorism operations. It is unfortunate that as a nation, we still do not understand that it is the footprint of our empire that breeds terrorism. Our invasion of Iraq only furthered the cause of al Queda, and our dropping of bombs on civilians as we try to ferret out the terrorists only fans the flames of the terrorists. Bill Moyers recently delivered an excellent two-minute commentary, “When We Kill without Caring,” in which he posed the question, regarding drone warfare, “Does it give rise to second thoughts by those judges who prematurely handed our president the Nobel Prize for Peace? Better they had kept in on the shelf in hopeful waiting, untarnished.”

It may be that any man, no matter what his ideals are, becomes imprisoned by the imperial machine when he becomes president of the United States (we’ve yet to see how a woman would respond). One wonders, for example, how Lyndon Johnson would have fared without Viet Nam. He was the president who had the vision to implement Headstart, Medicare and Medicaid. He was the one with the courage to make civil rights legislation happen (at the expense of losing the South to the Republican Party) because it was the right thing to do. But when it came to war, he could not see beyond an empire’s myopic need to fight.  It just may be that our current president will have to succumb to the will of the war machine, even if the war ends up looking remote and clinical in the form of an unmanned remote control aircraft.

My Own Bias (In the Interest of Full Disclosure)

I should state my own bias that shapes my views on what is best for our country. First of all, in matters of war and national defense, I side with our Quaker friends who have steadfastly resisted violence and continue to declare that war is not the answer. In our modern world, diplomacy and engagement are better tools than armies and guns when it comes to stability. The world is now too small, the weapons too big, and the stakes too high for us to continue to rely upon warfare as a means of international negotiation. Someone needs to hold us to a higher ethic than mere  nationalistic hegemony, and the Quakers along with others are doing just that.

In matters of a healthy society, I am for the common good and I take my cue from the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats in  Matthew 25 as to how we treat “the least of these.” For me, that parable of Jesus is not just a “final exam” to illustrate who gets into the Kingdom of Heaven. In fact, I do not consider it to be a story about heaven.  I see it as a guide to what constitutes a just and compassionate society that works for the good of all. The parable does not speak of individuals gathered before the Son of God on Judgment Day. The way Jesus frames it, he speaks of “all the nations gathered,” with each nation being judged on the basis of how its marginalized and weakest citizens are treated.  Thus, the test of a just nation and a compassionate society is based upon how the sick, the weak, the needy, the hungry, and those in prison are treated. This is where Catholic social teaching hits the mark, particularly in matters of social and economic justice. In the U.S., we have a good record in some respects of improvements that benefit the common good and which provide a safety net for the down-and-out. In other respects we have a long way to go before we can be called a just society.

On measure, I have hope on this day as we move ahead. On the other hand, I realize that we are still a polarized country, the process of governing is still cumbersome, and any progress will probably come in fits and starts. Nevertheless, we have a chance to make some real progress but we will not get there unless we all get there.

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