A Letter to America, In Verse – © Steven G. O'Dell 2008

Goodbye, America; goodbye--'tis bittersweet to see thee die;
yet, it seems, there is no choice. You no longer hear the pleading voice
that cries for justice, sure and true, as once so long ago did you—
when tyrants' hand upon you heavy, did a burdensome weight so levy
and patriots were traitors called, who more than man by God were awed
and loved their land and freedom so, as only God above could know.

And valued was the right to fail, for honest effort was no jail.
We were not spared of consequence and learned how daily to repent.
Yea, truth was cherished most of all—we reveled in its hallowed hall;
Yet, along the path we somewhere strayed and step-by-step we left the grade
That led to peace and happiness and taught the humble soul to bless
A land of opportunity with no promise, but to be free.

We traded for 'entitlements', 'til all our freedom is near spent
and find we still are not secure as when uncertainty endured,
for we gave our feathers to make our nest and now we find we heavily rest
in sorrow that we made ourselves—we shall not fly without God's help.
We must return to our first love—remember Him that sees above.
Oh, follow tenets tried and true; to freedom, America—I pray you do.

For only repentance can remove this blight, replacing darkness with full light.
In the end, the choice is yours; God will not force through any doors.
He only begs that you give heed—the choice was always yours indeed.
Oh, do not say He doesn't care, has forgotten us or isn't there;
The proof is easy as can be--a humble heart and bended knee.
No disposition to do wrong, but only filled with joyous song.

If Justice has a mighty claim, know, too, that Mercy can have the same.
Will you not tire of eating crumbs? Think back on what you have become,
and how you came to be so low; by inch and step you wandered so.
If happiness is to endure, it only springs from souls so pure;
the righteous only know true peace, when hatred, strife and malice cease.
And God's true city will arise to banish all deceit and lies.

Deep down, I think you've always known that mankind reaps what man has sown.
For all things have their opposites; both good and evil do exist.
And so, my friend, I'll pray for you. There's little else that I can do,
'til you desire to make true change and institute a Godly age,
when you care for neighbor, too, as much as you have cared for you.
I only pray you change your fate--before it's lastingly too late.

In section 84 of the Doctrine and Covenants, verses 98-102, the reference is made to a new song that will be sung in the day when the Lord reigns on the earth. I have been blessed to hear and know that song and will be sending it to the Church as a gift. For your blessing, here is that song:

D&C 84: 95-102

The Lord Hath Brought Again Zion

The Lord hath brought again Zion, according to His grace;
He hath freed His people Israel, as brought to pass by faith.
The Lord hath gathered all in one, above and from beneath;
By cov’nant with our Fathers, His people hath redeemed.

The earth hath ended her labors and now brings forth her strength.
With the truth established in her, Heaven smiles upon her reign.
With Satan bound and time no more and all see eye to eye,
Let us lift our voices together, here never more to die.

Our God hath shown us His mercy and all now know His way.
The earth clothed in His glory and men behold his face.
God’s glory, honor, power and might, within his people’s midst.
Through justice, grace and mercy, His truth hath brought us peace.

Words and music: Steven G. O’Dell, b.1951

I could hardly believe how windy it was today
Much too windy to let the children go out to play
Limbs of the big ol' trees were waving left and right
Yes, for man or beast, it was really quite a sight

Most people think the wind controls branches of the trees
But I'd like to provide you a little insight if you please
The trees are really quite intelligent and devious you know
They learn self preservation the very minute they begin to grow

In times of drought they can get downright mean
Woe to the critter who against the trunk doth lean
It's during those desperate times they conjure up the wind
Waving limbs and branches lure the dogs, their water to lend

But one dogs full load, to the tree is just a trickle
Trees need many more to get them out of this pickle
A good shady spot with a wide sturdy trunk, an offered invitation
I've seen two or three waiting in line, give that tree an ovation

But things sometimes get really tough for the trees
Some turn extremely mean, you can't tell which by their leaves
But I saw the proof, I knew what happened, I could hear the tones
When a big st. bernard lifted his leg, the tree sucked him dry, leaving only
a hairy bag of bones

So before you wander in the woods during a drought
Make sure your bladder's empty enough to get you all the way out

I passed by the elementary school playground today
It must have been luck, for the children were out to play
What a pleasant surprise, as I beheld a magnificent sight
They were running, playing, laughing and singing, not a single fight

White, Black, Hispanics and Asian, playing together, having fun
Oh, why do we adults find it necessary to keep each other on the run
These beautiful children, faces aglow in their innocence
It’s too bad they must be subjected to grownups’ utter nonsense

I walked across the street, the middle school is there
Things here were different, and it’s not just the length of the hair
Silly little social cliques had already begun to form
Picking on the smaller or less fortunate had become the norm

Small groups of children, laughing and pointing fingers
Laughs not just fun and innocence, still the memory lingers
I could see the targets of those humiliating, taunting jeers
I felt the deepening pain and saw tender faces flow with tears

Yes, the children are being taught, the lessons they learn well
Another twenty years or so, imagine the tales they will tell
On now, to the high school, prejudices are firmly set
Someone slightly different will have a tough row to hoe, I’ll bet

Cheerleaders, jocks, bookworms, nerds, lines of battle have been drawn
I look for the signs of innocence, but those are now long gone
Oh, we’ve taught really well, the tunes of unrest and discontent
But the energy to develop hatred of all, is horribly misspent

Still mere children, yet they carry guns and knives
The seed planted is now grown, playmates fear for their lives
As if someone declared the hunting season is open today
And the children die, floors run red, why must it be that way

Why must we learn to hate and despise, it does no good at all
Our Savior had no qualms, He loves us one and all

It's cold outside and I have a plastic straw
They should outlaw plastic until after the thaw
I have a three quart cooler which I fill with water and ice
A straw down the neck of this cooler makes drinking quite nice

Have you ever noticed in time of need or great stress
The very thing you need to fix it has left you in a mess
Most of the time it's broken, or maybe it's just lost
You dearly need a replacement, no matter what the cost

I was eating jalapeno chips, a taste I truly love
But the heat exuded by those chips, hotter than the sun above
I reach back for my cooler, my mouth needs help a bit
A little bump on the tip of that straw completely shattered it

My mouth aflame, it's hard to breathe, what a pickle
I tilt the jug, put spout to my lips, immediately felt a trickle
Ice water runs down my neck, but my mouth is still on fire
How quickly I found myself in the straits called dire

My truck careening down the road, others dodging madly
Making attempts to soak up the cold, succeeding very badly
Simultaneously I do my deep-breathing first aid try
It could eventually cool of my poor oral cavity by and by

Eventually I regain my composure, even smile at passersby
So when you hear the merits of plastic, be wary of a lie
My solution to the problem to which I've been alluding
Was very simple, you see, I've a length of surgical tubing

The trooper saw me speeding
And weaving just a touch
Driving a little erratic
But really not too much
I saw the flashing lights behind
I heard the siren's wail
At first I didn't pay much mind
But my attention was soon centered
My foot came down hard on the brake
The squad car couldn't stop
We soon ended up, he on the bottom, me on top
we two only cuts and bruises had
Me in handcuffs, he shaking his head
As we waited for transportation
Finally he raised his eyes to me
And this is the question he asked
Are you drunk? What possessed you to drive so?
I looked right back, and in all honesty replied
I've not had a single drink sir, A little smile I tried
The simple explanation is, I broke my shoelace
It was an extra long lace I had on
Somehow it became wrapped in the throttle linkage
Every time I raised my foot, my car became a rocket
The swerving you saw was my feeble attempts
To try to free my foot by hand
I couldn't see when my head was down
But I corrected As soon as could be
At long last the shoelace finally broke
I only braked so hard when my foot came down free
That was why you ran into me
See, that's the culprit, that darn shoelace