John Fitzgerald Kennedy (R) is sworn in as the 35th US president by Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren (L) in front of the Capitol in Washington on January 20, 1961.
(STF/AFP/Getty)
Poet Richard Blanco is just the fifth poet to take part in a President's inaugural ceremony. The first was Robert Frost, who spoke at President John F. Kennedy's 1961 swearing in. Bill Clinton revived the tradition, and Maya Angelou joined him on the inaugural dais in 1993.
In both of his inauguration ceremonies, President Barack Obama has chosen to put poetry front and center, The Takeaway has decided to follow suit, with renowned poet Kwame Dawes, who discusses the very American tradition of inaugural poetry.
And we want you, Takeaway listeners, to help us celebrate the tradition by writing our own inaugural poem. Here's how it works.
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Comments [23]
"Say Nation."
"In the wake of quarrels,"
"Say Hope."
Say Power. Say the People.
Say the People, Say Me.
Say Me, I am the Hope
stay in the nation
united with hopes
of getting over our division
we will keep the spark of hope
from it will come a bonfire
a bonfire of our not yet united nation
say no,to racism & crimes in the world...............
say "believe" when our country is at its lowest, say "love" when our country is at war.
Say "thanks" to the people who take care for us.
"Say nation."
In the wake of quarrels,
say "hope."
In the wake of
racism, say "freedom."
We are who we are,
and we are one nation.
say hope in the peak of darkness
say sorry for the desire of forgiveness
say love for the love and hope you feel for this country
that we will rise together as one and concur our fight and struggles.
say hope in the wake of a dream
when we fall we get back up we be the good me and say peace.
say life when in fear say love
say sorry those you have hurt, open the gate to your heart
Say "future." The future where we will unite again as one nation.
say "shelter." in the wake of job loss say "protection"
Say peace, for our country and our people. For our nation and our fate. Say yes.
Say that we will find a light in the darkest tunnel and that our bonds will be woven tighter as a country, from the lowest times through to the greatest
Say that we will move to greater things together as a nation, as a family and as a vital part of the worlds community
Say what you want to say, rather than what others want you to say.
Say country, say believe.
Let us move forward, let's join together to make us strong.
Say "freedom" in the name of our country,
Say "America".
Hope takes flight.
Wings stretch, currents catch.
We rise up.
Air as substance.
Spirits lift, wills strong.
We rise up.
Wind sings,
"Forward, forward."
We rise up.
We rise up.
Hope
and hopeless
Say Nation in the wake of quarrels
Say hope
and hopeless
divided we remain, thank God
I think
Democracy is about a country being divided
We hope the splinters can be removed
From working worn hands
We hope the splinters
will not linger for future generations
The blood spills in dribs
And drags with little aches
But a Democracy is a country divided
That is its basic tenet
Once upon a time,
Our current President
Might have been a Slave
He has risen to a place of power
Yes, he is hated...
He is the hope
And the hopeless
Live in a Hell
My domestic and foreign policy is all wrong, but people still voted for me,
Don't forget that Frost, blinded by the brightness of the snow, was unable to read the poem he had written for the occasion, and instead, spoke from memory a much earlier poem, "The Gift Outright."
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