Just recently we passed another birthday date,
Our cry for Independence, which helped decide our fate.
But we must recollect…we had a war to win
Before the USA could venture to begin.
We also must remember how that started out;
For at the very first, the outcome was in doubt.
Remember too it was as much a civil war
As with the British, riven to the core.
In truth, our Independence Day was just a thought,
That had to be broadcast and trumpeted a lot.
Too many of us thought they had it made,
So being ruled by Britain, there their fortunes laid.
We also weren’t prepared, by any stretch or means,
We seemingly had nothing on which success leans.
Except for this—we learned to fight, to hold our own;
Which means we also learned that we were not alone.
It all came down to this—we did not want to lose.
That was enough right there, enough to light a fuse.
We had to prove ourselves, to prove ourselves to us!
We steadily did that—events were then a plus.
So Independence was not given; that we earned.
What we have done with it is easily discerned.
So while we fought to get it, so must we fight to keep.
That is the only way its benefits we reap!
© Richard Williams