How could we possibly prevail over catastrophe? Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy.īut while democracy can be periodically delayed,įor while we have our eyes on the future, We've seen a force that would shatter our nation It's because being American is more than a pride we inherit, That everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree Not because we will never again know defeat,īut because we will never again sow division. That we'll forever be tied together, victorious. Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true, We seek harm to none and harmony for all. We close the divide because we know, to put our future first, To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters andĪnd so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us, We are striving to forge a union with purpose, Striving to form a union that is perfect. We the successors of a country and a timeĭescended from slaves and raised by a single mother We've learned that quiet isn't always peace, Where can we find light in this never-ending shade? Read a transcript of the full poem below. “It’s doing that in a way that is not erasing or neglecting the harsh truths I think America needs to reconcile with.” But what I really aspire to do in the poem is to be able to use my words to envision a way in which our country can still come together and can still heal,” she explained to the New York Times. “In my poem, I’m not going to in any way gloss over what we’ve seen over the past few weeks and, dare I say, the past few years.

Gorman finished the poem, titled 'The Hill We Climb,' the night after pro-Trump rioters sieged the Capitol building earlier this month. But even amidst such fanfare, a relatively unknown figure managed to steal the show: Amanda Gorman, National Youth Poet Laureate and the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris's inauguration ceremony was a star-studded affair, with the likes of Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez stepping up to the mic.

The hill we climb gorman