patriotism

the love of country begins in the heart
not of the spaces nor of the many views
nor all those faces we've seen on the news
to love your country is a kind of art
we see ourselves both as whole and part
all come together as brain bone and thews
yet we've been given messages and clues
naming ourselves is how we make a start
it's in the voices and half-forgotten songs
in memories of laughter and of pain
in shared burdens and a common yoke
all that we do all of the rights and wrongs
the brightest sunshine and the heavy rain
in sombre moment and in happy joke