New work by US poet sets fresh course
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Trump triumphantly declared a Golden Age for America at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland last week, and its dawning is even lighting up America's literary scene.
A new poem composed for Donald Trump's Second Presidential Inauguration is resounding across the highways and byways of the Internet, earning major kudos.
Authored by Catholic, Pennsylvania-born poet Joseph Massey, "America Is the Poem" is a masterful artistic feat capturing the magnitude of this historic moment in time.
"America is not an idea but a living reality, a real place, shared between people." – Joseph Massey
Massey's piece is a brief and simple, yet deeply profound, appeal to all Americans to awaken to the new dawn; to reclaim our country – and ourselves.
It paints a heart-tugging picture of an America that once was, and CAN BE once again; nudging us even to see hope in the rustbelt "factories folded in on themselves."
Subtly, yet powerfully, it captures what our enemies have done to our country, to each one of us, "warping us away from our axis." But it speaks to endurance and the mandate to rise again.
Massey, as true poets throughout the ages have always done, brings us back to ourselves – who we we were, who we are, and who we are called to become. He brings us back to a "shared reality sealed under the hand of God."
The poem and the video version follow.
America Is the Poem
Rain washes the dust from train windows
as we barrel through the poem of America.
From New York to Chicago, I watch it scroll by—
frame by frame and line by line.
Rivers and lakes reflect the pale winter sky
and haunt my vision.
America, what you were,
and will be again — I see you
in silos rising like fists from farmland.
America, the land itself says, "Fight!"
America, I see you in chipped brick walls
stained with faded logos.
I see you there, waiting
to rise from gone-under towns
and cities spangled in endless dusk.
We can see you now
emerging from boarded-up corner bars,
baseball fields barbed with weeds,
hollowed-out churches
and factories folded in on themselves
like crushed cans reclaimed by the wild.
And we see you, and we know you
in ragtag families packed into vehicles
to head to church on a Sunday,
or to visit a grandfather who remembers war
and what it means to survive
for love of the country that survives because of him
and his brothers — gone.
America, for love, we go on.
America, you defy the narratives
imposed to poison your majesty.
All the poison imposed
to warp us away from our axis:
the true, the beautiful, what binds us
to a shared reality
sealed under the hand of God.
Americans, may we all wake
to the dawn, this day,
with courage,
for we are the whirlwind
promised by patriots
who fought to the depth
of a last breath
to birth America.
And we are here—
there is no other time—
to watch her rise again.
Click here to view Mr. Massey's X post.
The response to Massey's poem and its video rendition – both rocking social media – has been nothing short of a surprising mini-miracle, yet another among the many emerging in Trump's new broad-ranging Golden Age.
Reactions to "America Is the Poem" include:
Holy moly, this is beautiful. I burst into tears.
Destined to become a classic!
This is not only inspirational but beautifully moving. ...
Goosebumps
I'm crying – this is so incredibly beautiful. Such a shame the entire country doesn't have the privilege of hearing it on inauguration day!!!
Awesome! "There is no other time."
Wow. You did it. This is beautiful and powerful and moving and I didn't even vote for DJT but I am a huge fan of your work Joseph Massey.
Fabulous, and AMEN!
The poet indicates he's not surprised by the popular reception, given the oppressive "woke" guardrails that have been dictating what qualifies as art or poetry in recent times. He tells Souls and Liberty:
"So much of contemporary poetry is, to put it bluntly, flat prose chopped up on the page, and it is obsessed with the narration of identity and political viewpoints ('Woke') that simply do not resonate with people. I believe that anyone, from any background, can find value in poetry."
"My hope is that more poets and artists will feel emboldened to step away from the organizations and institutions that place artists in an ideological stranglehold, and that they will use the wide-reaching tools that are readily available (social media, print-on-demand publishing, etc.) to create culture," he says. "We can't wait for a captured culture to catch up to us; we must create it ourselves."
In a goal that many Souls and Liberty followers can relate to, Massey says he seeks "to find the sacred in the ordinary" and then share that journey, as well as the discovery, with others. He adds:
"I keep the beautiful, mystical prayer of Saint Patrick in mind as I move about the world and do my work:
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me. ...
"All things are sacred with the truth of that prayer in mind and heart," he notes.
Massey is the author of numerous books of poetry, including Decades: Selected Poems (2024) and Rosary Made of Air (2022). His poems have been translated into multiple languages.
Dr. Barbara Toth has a doctorate in rhetoric and composition from Bowling Green State University. She has taught high school in Poland and Oman and at universities in the US, China and Saudi Arabia. Her work in setting up a writing center at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahmen University, an all-women's university in Riyadh, has been cited in American journals. Toth has published academic and non-academic articles and poems internationally.
Editor's note:
HOW SOULS AND LIBERTY WILL MOVE FORWARD THE NEXT FOUR YEARS
There can be no doubt we have witnessed an extraordinary moment in the history of the United States and the world. The election of Donald Trump to a second Presidential term is a great victory for Christian patriots, but it is not a complete or final victory. Rather, it is a reprieve from the ceaseless assaults on life, liberty and faith we have had to endure for four years.
Donald Trump is president once again, and his decisions, Cabinet selections, and force of personality are shaping the United States and the world in ways we could only dream of.
We have a Heaven-sent opportunity to step up and ensure this victory is not merely a one-off, but the first of many and the foundation of a lasting legacy of patriotic, Christian, pro-family policies.
Souls and Liberty will be part of that effort, but we cannot do it without you. It will require reporting and activism of which YOU can be a part.
Can you step up and support us? Just once – a one-time donation is very valuable. Or, better yet, support us every month with a recurring donation. Thank you, and may God bless you.
Stephen Wynne
Editor-in-Chief, Souls and Liberty
Tags: Joseph Massey, American poetry, America's Golden Age, "America Is the Poem," Donald Trump's Second Presidential Inauguration
So nice.