The request from the organizers of the Long Branch Poetry Festival this year was to consider presenting “historical, patriotic, non-political” materials for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The assignment proved more challenging than I expected. Following are the two new poems I wrote for the Fourth of July event.
Land of hopes
Long Branch NJ to Long Beach CA,
What a big beautiful country this USA.
Woody Guthrie sang it many years ago,
This land is your land this land is my land,
… this land was made for you and me.
On huge transporters many arrived,
To this great land with many opportunities,
A true melting pot full of hope and ambition,
And the promise of freedom for us all,
Whether tired or poor or fleeing persecution.
Parents wanting better for their children,
Sacrificing for them to receive the education
And the skills they need to attain success
And happiness that was proving too elusive
In the land of their own birth and youth.
New Americans assimilating with the old,
While adding their own flavors and sounds
To the mosaic of this still young land,
And continuing to expand and redefine
Just what is the culture of the USA today.
That’s the past and present at 250 years.
But what of the next hundred or so years
For the future generations of Americans?
Are the best of times in this land behind us,
Is now what they’ll say is the good ol’ days?
America can continue to build its strength,
Greeting people with dreams and ambitions
Who value our democracy and economy
And contribute to the hope of better days
As this wonderful land continues to evolve.
Copyright 2026, Charles A. Bruns
Stamps
Only one country in all of the world
Could transport information of all kinds
Through its beautiful lands north to south,
East to west and up mountains down valleys
With these colorful images as the fare of passage
Since January twentieth two thousand twenty five A.D.:
Crab nebula, the horse, galaxy pair, sunflowers,
Angel’s trumpets, winter landscapes, lowriders.
Luna moth, bald eagle, SpongeBob SquarePants, schooner,
U. S. flag, baby wild animals, goodnight moon, star cluster.
Vibrant leaves, the Appalachian Trail, American bison, dahlias,
1794 compass rose, spiral galaxy, Route 66, American vistas.
Harriet Powers, Betty White, Muhammad Ali,
Jimmy Carter, Elie Wiesel, Phillis Wheatley,
Ben Franklin, Barbara Bush, William F. Buckley,
Allen Toussaint, and Bruce Lee.
Happy birthday, holiday cheer, 250 years of delivering,
Colorado statehood, day at the beach, freshwater fishing,
U.S. Army 250th, U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, postcrossing.
Treasures of the revolutionary era,
Battlefields of the American revolution.
Powwows, summer sunset, North American soccer,
Boston stamp show, International peace, love forever.
And today, the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence it is,
As depicted on the very latest stamp from the US Postal Service.
Copyright 2026, Charles A. Bruns
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