by Edgar A. Guest
It isn't enough on the Fourth of July
To send up a rocket to break in the sky;
It isn't enough, as we've all come to know,
To hang out Old Glory and make a big show.
To stand up and cheer
For the flag once a year
Is all very well in its limited way,
But what we must do
For the Red, White and Blue
Is love it and honor it day after day.
It isn't enough on the Fourth of July
To take off your hat as the Flag's passing by,
Or stand when "The Star Spangled Banner" is played
And cheer as the soldiers go past in parade.
It is all very well
Your devotion to tell
On the Fourth of July by a brilliant display,
But the flag that you love
As it ripples above
Needs something of service from you every day.
The test of your love's not the Fourth of July.
Or the cost of the rockets you send to the sky;
It isn't the way you get once a year
Or the flags you display or the speeches you cheer.
Though you may be correct
In the outward respect
Which on certain occasions you publicly pay,
The proof of your love
For Old Glory above
Is the service you give to her, day after day.
Time was that the Flag asked but little from us,
Men could satisfied be with their holiday fuss;
But the Motherland now needs our strength and our prayer
We must love and protect her and give her our care.
For all we hold dear
Every day in the year,
We must guard against all who would bring her to shame.
We must teach men the worth
Of the best land on Earth,
We must live for her glory and work for her fame.
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