Dear Editor,

Thank you to The Mountain-Ear for publishing that amazing and wise inaugural poem by Amanda Gorman, American’s first youth poet laureate.  

There were so many memorable lines, like this one, “And yes we are far from polished, far from pristine. But that doesn’t mean we are striving to form a union that is perfect.  We are striving to forge a union with purpose. To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and conditions of man.”  

Or later she writes, “If we’re to live up to our own time, then victory won’t lie in the blade, but in all the bridges we’ve made....It’s because being American is more than a pride we inherit, it’s the past we step into and how we repair it. “  

And later, “ We will not be tuned around or interrupted by intimidation because we know our inaction and inertia will be the inheritance of the next generation. Our blunders become their burdens. But one thing is certain: If we merge mercy with might and might with right, then love becomes our legacy and change our children’s birthright.”  

Finally, “the new dawn blooms as we free it, For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it, if only we’re brave enough to be it. “    

Bravo! Such well-chosen and insightful words in these hard times.  

Bill Thibedeau
Gilpin County