The Shot Heard Round The World

He stood with those who had gathered to honor heroes past.
Who at Concord continued a celebration that had no end.
It was a victory that Americans were sure was going to last.
Ralph Waldo Emerson was their poet and every man's friend.
It was his honor to write for the occasion a memorial hymn,
To be sung in celebrating their ancestors revolutionary win.
They were on Concord ground made sacred by shed blood.
It was a special moment, celebrating the birth of nationhood,
Dedicated first in 1775 by tears for the wounded and those who died.
Celebrated in cheers by heirs on April 19, 1836. We had survived!
All stood in silence before him as Emerson said,
"By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world...
To truly celebrate the victory won, we must recognize,
The God, who answered the prayers of the victorous ones.
Today we need God's Spirit who inspired the heroes to care,
Enough to dare to risk all for freedom to come and to expand.
Expand for their children and those still unborn who will come,
To settle and continue to develop this wonderful land.
May Time and Nature gently spare, their memories we treasure,
Symbolized by this memorial we lift as high as we can.
Fill us, O Lord, with the strength the Spirit of God does give,
So that with our ancestors' gift we might faithfully live."
Then Emerson paused briefly with a gleam in his eye,
And with a strong cry, he concluded with a great truth as a plus:
"What lies behind us, and what lies before us are a valuable trust,
But they are small matters compared to what lies within us."