Echoes Of Freedom

In the power of words,
A great experiment
Conceived in a time
When the sun dimmed.
The tyranny of monarchy
Grips tightly
Like the weight
Of a thousand chains.

We hold these truths
To be more true
Than others can imagine.

"Endowed by our Creator
With certain unalienable rights."

Life,
Liberty,
The pursuit of happiness.
Some of us are pushed
Closer than others.

To secure these rights
Governments are instituted
On the spine of a nation.

Deriving its powers
From the consent
Of the governed,
But what of the legacy of slavery?

All men are created equal
Untouched by the inkwell of cruelty
Yet deeply rooted
In the soil of hypocrisy.

We declare these facts
To be self-evident
Hoping that eventually,
One day
We may rise above
The whispered promises.

That among these rights,
Some will be bestowed
Only to a chosen few,
Those of privilege
While others are shackled
By their skin.

The highest aspirations
Of a fledgling nation
Yet,
Perhaps,
A discourse
Of contradiction.

We pledge our lives,
Our fortunes,
Our sacred honor
To the eternal struggle,
To transcend
The vast terrain
Of injustice.

Though the words may fall,
Like shadowed whispers
The power
Of the Declaration
Echoes still.

As a nation,
We have traversed
A formidable path,
Studded with shadows
And thorns,
Our destiny molded
By the agonizing strains
Of progress.

Yet,
Amidst this relentless
March forward,
We remain trapped
In the desolate pit
Of our own depravity,
Lurking in the depths
Where our shortcomings
Writhe.

Though we have ventured far,
The road ahead stretches
Palpably long,
Peppered with countless
Stumbling blocks
That threaten to ensnare us
In an unyielding grip.