amanda gorman reads inauguration poem the hill we climb

We close the divide because we know to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside. To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and conditions of man.Īnd so we lift our gaze, not to what stands between us, but what stands before us. We are striving to forge our union with purpose. We, the successors of a country and a time where a skinny Black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of becoming president, only to find herself reciting for one.Īnd, yes, we are far from polished, far from pristine, but that doesn’t mean we are striving to form a union that is perfect. Somehow we weathered and witnessed a nation that isn’t broken, but simply unfinished. We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace, and the norms and notions of what “just” is isn’t always justice.Īnd yet the dawn is ours before we knew it. When day comes, we ask ourselves, where can we find light in this never-ending shade?

…”shatter our nation rather than share it” came from reading Tweets by people who don’t want to share the country with the rest of us… Like Angelou, who was mute as a child–and Joe Biden, who grew up with a stutter–she’s overcome a childhood speech impediment to find her voice. Sad to hear “ding, dong” has been discouraged, as I kind of like the sound of it. Gorman says she was not given specific instructions on what to write, but was encouraged to emphasize unity and hope over “denigrating anyone” or declaring “ding, dong, the witch is dead” over the departure of President Donald Trump. She is calling her inaugural poem “The Hill We Climb” while otherwise declining to preview any lines. The esteemed and prolific poet Amanda Gorman has been chosen to read at the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden

Amanda gorman reads inauguration poem the hill we climb