''Flag'' - By: Ademir S. Jr.

''The flag is not for selling cars,

No, not the one with stripes and stars

Which over countless dead has draped

In wars in which our land was shaped;

It’s not for stimulating sales

When every other gimmick fails.

It isn't for festooning bars,

Nor promoting fine cigars;

It’s not a cloak of righteousness

To dignify our selfish quests,

Nor just another piece of cloth

Unworthy of our ardent troth.

The flag is meant to symbolize

America, God’s perfect prize

For loving freedom more than life

With fervor tried in toil and strife

While pausing not to count the price

That calls for awesome sacrifice.

The flag is meant to eulogize

Her patriots before our eyes,

Those selfless souls who dreamed and planned

And prayed and toiled to mold this land,

Who fought to make and keep it free,

And every child of liberty.

The flag is meant to dramatize

The heights to which mankind can rise

In making dreams reality,

In lifting up humanity,

In reaching out with loving care,

While breathing freedoms precious air.

The flag is meant to advertise

To all who seek our land’s demise

That we who hold our colors high

Are trembling not but shall reply

With all our might when foes assail,

And with God’s help, we shall prevail.

The flag is meant to solemnize

The stirred emotions that arise

From zealous hearts that swell inside,

No, not with arrogance and pride,

But with a thanks that makes us lift

Our praise to God for freedom’s gift.''

Ademir dos Santos Júnior,
ICBNA U.S.A.de PoA,
Porto Alegre, Brasil, 18/oct/2010