Thank you for your transcendent performance yesterday, Amanda Gorman.
You offered hope—even joy—both in real-time from the Capitol steps, and subsequently when I shared your poem with my children later. I join the chorus in shouting: BRAVO.
Tasked with composing a poem about national unity (honestly, I don’t know how you did it!), you did not succumb to platitudes. I appreciated how many fundamental truths—key challenges for many of my leadership coaching clients—were woven throughout your poem. Here are seven. I’m sure there are countless others.
ONE: You shared an inspiring vision of Americans:
Striving to forge a union with purpose
TWO: You recognized our humanity:
far from polished
far from pristine
THREE: You acknowledged that nobody gets a clean slate:
It's because being American is more than a pride we inherit,
it's the past we step into
and how we repair it
FOUR: You honored the complexity of effort:
That even as we grieved, we grew
That even as we hurt, we hoped
That even as we tired, we tried
FIVE: (I think this is my favorite) You reminded us how much of our journey is still to come:
a nation that isn't broken
but simply unfinished
SIXTH: You challenged us to collaborate as the path ahead is a demanding one:
Then victory won't lie in the blade
But in all the bridges we've made
SEVENTH: You encouraged us (many times) to find courage. The hardest of all leadership tasks.
The hill we climb
If only we dare
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
I know I will revisit your poem again. (And thus I’ve included the full text at the bottom of this post for easy finding).
Readers, I confess I spent quite a bit of time yesterday googling Amanda. I enjoyed clips from her interview with "CBS This Morning" co-host Anthony Mason, especially when she shared her connection to her lineage and “tradition of truth telling.” And, when at minute 4:30, she shared her mantra…I grabbed paper. Here’s how Amanda (who, as you may know, struggled with speech as a child), prepares to speak publicly. [See, everyone has to prepare!]
One of the preparations that I do always whenever I perform is I say a mantra to myself, which is 'I'm the daughter of black writers. We're descended from freedom fighters who broke through chains and changed the world. They call me.' And that is the way in which I prepare myself for the duty that needs to get done.
Such ambition and purpose. Courage, and of course, leadership.
I was thrilled to learn that when Oprah, who reportedly gave Maya Angelou the coat she wore to recite "On the Pulse of Morning" at Clinton’s Inaugural in 1993, called Amanda to continue the tradition, Amanda declined, saying she already had a coat in her favorite color. (stunning!) So, Oprah gave her the birdcage ring and earrings instead. I love such illustrations of how sisterhood can be shared so powerfully across generations.
Thank you to all who made this peaceful leadership transition possible. Now, more than ever, we know not to take such transitions for granted.
And, two more gratitudes:
Thank you #SetserGroup for alerting me to this first-ever special live broadcast of the Inauguration made especially for students and families. See: bideninaugural.org/youth.
Thank you David Leonhardt (who writes “The Morning” a daily briefing email for the New York Times) for bringing two hidden haikus to light. In particular, @nythaikus recently spotted one in Abraham Lincoln’s 1861 inaugural address:
Though passion may have
strained it must not break our
bonds of affection.
And one from Biden’s:
We can join forces,
stop the shouting and lower
the temperature.
Lastly, in the spirit of celebration, hope and unity, I wanted to share this haunting recording of “On The Day We Are Together Again” by the Congregation Bet Haverim Chorus. Thanks Mom!
The Hill We Climb
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 stands 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