56Men

56 Men

They met early in June of 76

in the City of Brotherly Love

Relations with Britain were all but shattered

They prayed to their God up above

They talked on for weeks and debated quite loudly.

Rebellion, War, and Free Will

Should they break with the Crown and sever all ties?

Then they finally decided, "We will"

So a draft was laid down by Jefferson's pen

And the delegates talked on some more

But time was quite short, for a large Royal fleet

was knocking at New York’s front door

They declared Independence at last on the 4th

And all signed the paper with pride.

No longer "subjects" but free men at last.

Americans now, side by side!

The word went out swiftly to the 13 new states.

All the bells tolled across the new land.

"There's tough times ahead", was a phrase said by many

“But it's time that we all took a stand”.

And stand fast they did. Seven more years of fire.

Till Cornwallis was beaten at last.

And kings reigned no more in the Land of the Free.

Tyranny became just the past.

And what do we owe to those few gallant men

who called themselves "Congress" so bold?

And stood up to an empire as no one before

And as few have since then, truth be told.

Just a small group of men representing a nation.

They all knew the dangers and risks.

I take my hat off every 4th of July

And thank God for those brave 56

Robert De Groff