with apologies to Francis Scott Key

O say can you see
by the dusk’s tardy light
what so proudly we glimpsed
as today was just dawning.
Whose red stripes and white stars
caused our heart’s beat to skip
as we paused to reflect
on the price tag of freedom.
Of this banner we sing
and the soldiers who died
who dared to defend
all the rights that we cherish.
O let us give praise
to the God of all nations
for this land where we live
and the life we enjoy.