4 Patriotic Poems That Rhyme

Roses are red, violets are blue, patriotic poems that rhyme are awesome, and so are you. Sorry, I had to try. However, I'm not sorry about stating that patriotic poems are awesome, because they totally are... and they're that much more spectacular when there's some rhyme sprinkled in.

I remember taking a high school class in which we spent an entire three weeks studying poems that didn't rhyme. I was already not a huge poetry girl, so the fact that we were studying ones that had no rhyme in them really made it dreadful. To me, the flow and rhythm are what make poetry so captivating, and subsequently, I think that rhyming lines can only help that effort.

These four poems and excerpts below demonstrate exactly what I'm saying, as they make use of some major rhyme while talking about the one and only U. S. of A. While they don't all talk about America as being a utopia yet (very fair), they do all hope for a greater tomorrow in wake of a free today. Pick a poem, and take some time to really read through it this Fourth of July. Not only will it make you feel smarter, but you'll have a chance to try out your flow. It's OK, you can do it in the privacy of your own bedroom if you want. We can't all be on Def Poetry Jam.

1. "Freedom in America" by Joanna Fuchs

Freedom in AmericaIsn't really free;We often pay a priceTo keep our liberty.Remember those we loved,Who fought for us, and died;And those we never knewFor whom others mourned and cried.

Read the full poem here.

2. "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,With conquering limbs astride from land to land;Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall standA mighty woman with a torch, whose flameIs the imprisoned lightning, and her nameMother of Exiles. From her beacon-handGlows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes commandThe air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries sheWith silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

3. "O Flag of our Union" — Author Unknown

O flag of our Union,To you we'll be true,To your red and white stripes,And your stars on the blue;The emblem of freedom,The symbol of right,We children salute you,O flag fair and bright!

4. "The Landlord's Tale. Paul Revere's Ride" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Listen, my children, and you shall hearOf the midnight ride of Paul Revere,On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;Hardly a man is now aliveWho remembers that famous day and year.

He said to his friend, "If the British marchBy land or sea from the town to-night,Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry archOf the North Church tower as a signal light,—One, if by land, and two, if by sea;And I on the opposite shore will be,Ready to ride and spread the alarmThrough every Middlesex village and farm,For the country folk to be up and to arm."Then he said, "Good night!" and with muffled oarSilently rowed to the Charlestown shore,Just as the moon rose over the bay,Where swinging wide at her moorings layThe Somerset, British man-of-war;A phantom ship, with each mast and sparAcross the moon like a prison bar,And a huge black hulk, that was magnifiedBy its own reflection in the tide.

Read the full poem here.

Image: NASA/Unsplash