At Lafayette School, we recognize the lyrics to our national anthem. We stand respectfully for the familiar tune and sing along when we hear it played during morning announcements, at sporting events, and at public gatherings. Today, Poetry on Parade faces the flag, celebrating National Anthem Day and looking into the story behind the poem that became our nation's official song:
The Star-Spangled Banner
O say, can you see by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
Francis Scott Key, a lawyer, author, and amateur poet, wrote the words to The Star-Spangled Banner after witnessing a fierce battle at Fort McHenry, Maryland, during the War of 1812. In September of 1814 (We know! It's confusing: the War of 1812 was still being fought in 1814), Key was being held on a British ship while trying to negotiate the release of a friend who had been taken prisoner. He watched the bombardment of the fort from the ship. In the morning light after the violent battle, the sight of the American flag still flying over Fort McHenry inspired Key to write his famous poem. The poem-- which has four verses, even though we usually only hear the first-- was set to music, and on March 3, 1931, Congress chose The Star Spangled Banner as our national anthem.
Our next poem is from a new favorite LMC book, Good Morning Ms. America: The U.S.A. in Verse by J. Patrick Lewis. The poem is called USA in Short: The State Initials Game, and it's really a poem and a puzzle rolled into one:
No MAtter where you AR,
RIght here OR faraWA,
If you CAn naME the states
(AZ in the USA),
SoMEoNE MIght NV you!
TAKe aNY state there is,
AbbrevIAte it, kID,
AND you COuld WIn tHIs quiz!
So pUT your braIN CAp on.
Get peNCILs ready... Go!
It's the state INitiALs GAME.
DiSCover MANY MO!
Good Morning Ms. America offers an illustrated selection of witty poems, clever anagrams, and challenging riddles about the United States. The LMC has shelves and shelves of historical tales, folktales, and patriotic poems for you to check out-- entertaining opportunities to learn more about the star-spangled history and geography of the United States!
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