Amanda Gorman - Making an Impact Through Poetry
By: Mallory Johnson
Amanda Gorman, a 22-year-old African American Youth Poet Laureate, performed her stunning poem “The Hill We Climb” at President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ Inauguration Day, on Wednesday, January 20th, 2021. She referenced the hit musical Hamilton twice in her poem, and Lin-Manuel Miranda, the writer of Hamilton, watched her performance and tweeted her multiple times. Because of the successful aftermath of the performance, Amanda’s social media accounts were not working, and she could not check her notifications. She got interviewed on CNN and was surprised by a video message from Lin-Manuel Miranda praising her poem and performance. Amanda overcame a speech impediment that made it hard for her to say certain letters, including the letter R. To overcome this, she practiced by signing along to the Hamilton song “Aaron Burr, Sir.” Amanda has three books that are available on Amazon, and after her performance, her books all topped the Amazon charts. In interviews, Amanda said that she is planning to run for President of the United States in 2036.
Her wonderful poem is here:
The Hill We Climb
By: Amanda Gorman
“When day comes, we ask ourselves,
where can we find light in this never-ending shade?
The loss we carry,
a sea we must wade.
We've braved the belly of the beast.
We've learned that quiet isn't always peace.
And the norms and notions
of what just is
Isn't always just-ice.
And yet the dawn is ours
before we knew it
Somehow, we do it
Somehow, we've weathered and witnessed.
a nation that isn't broken
but simply unfinished
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
And yes, we are far from polished.
far from pristine
but that doesn't mean we are
striving to form a union that is perfect.
We are striving to forge a union with purpose.
To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and
conditions of man
And so, we lift our gazes not to what stands between us,
but what stnands before us
We close the divide because we know, to put our future first,
we must first put our differences aside.
We lay down our arms.
so, we can reach out our arms.
to one another
We seek harm to none and harmony for all.
Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
That even as we grieved, we grew.
That even as we hurt, we hoped.
That even as we tired, we tried.
That we'll forever be tied together, victorious.
Not because we will never again know defeat.
but because we will never again sow division
Scripture tells us to envision.
that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree
And no one shall make them afraid.
If we're to live up to our own time
Then victory won't lie in the blade
But in all the bridges we've made
That is the promise to glade.
The hill we climb.
If only we dare
It's because being American is more than a pride we inherit,
it's the past we step into
and how we repair it.
We've seen a force that would shatter our nation.
rather than share it.
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy.
And this effort very nearly succeeded.
But while democracy can be periodically delayed
it can never be permanently defeated.
In this truth
in this faith we trust
For while we have our eyes on the future
history has its eyes on us.
This is the era of just redemption.
We feared at its inception.
We did not feel prepared to be the heirs.
of such a terrifying hour
but within it we found the power
to author a new chapter
To offer hope and laughter to ourselves
So, while once we asked,
how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?
Now we assert.
How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?
We will not march back to what was.
but move to what shall be.
A country that is bruised but whole,
benevolent but bold,
fierce and free
We will not be turned around.
or interrupted by intimidation.
because we know our inaction and inertia
will be the inheritance of the next generation.
Our blunders become their burdens.
But one thing is certain:
If we merge mercy with might,
and might with right,
then love becomes our legacy.
and change our children's birthright.
So, let us leave behind a country.
better than the one we were left with.
Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest,
we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one.
We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the west,
we will rise from the windswept northeast.
where our forefathers first realized revolution
We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states,
we will rise from the sunbaked south.
We will rebuild, reconcile, and recover.
and every known nook of our nation and
every corner called our country,
our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,
battered and beautiful
When day comes, we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid
The new dawn blooms as we free it.
For there is always light,
if only we're brave enough to see it
If only we're brave enough to be it”
