This morning I awoke to birdsong
A gentle breeze, cloudless bluesky day
Stretched out before me like an ocean
Vacation day,
All mine, to do as I please
I drop into a lounge chair
Pick up my book
War, imprisonment, starvation, cruelty
Greed, suffering, all the light we cannot see
People trapped in lives they did not choose
Fiction told in these pages I hold
The newspaper’s filled with the same
Story after true story after true story
All around the world
But not here
Not where I live and work and love and breathe freely
Not where I wave my flag listening to patriotic cries of horn and drum
Not here
This day is a gift
This freedom that I have, you have, we have
To be cherished and revered and kept sacred
To give thanks for on the 4th of July, yes
And to remember tomorrow and the next day and the next day and the next
To be free is the greatest gift of all
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About katemccarrollmoore
Kate Moore’s passion is literacy, and she serves as a mentor teacher and staff developer throughout the greater Bay Area. Kate served three terms as the City of San Ramon's Poet Laureate (2012-2018); she also teaches poetry writing workshops and is an instructor in the Master of Arts in Teacher Leadership (MATL) program at St. Mary’s College of California. She was honored as SRVUSD Teacher of the Year in 2007 and San Ramon Chamber of Commerce Educator of the Year in 2009. Kate holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership for Social Justice from California State University, East Bay, an M.A. in Teacher Leadership from St. Mary’s and a B.A. in English Education from SUNY Albany. She and Bob Moore are the proud parents of four beautiful grown daughters, and the smitten grandparents of four beautiful children who fill them with hope for the future.
Beautiful
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