Elizabeth Alexander offers poetic praise at Obama Inauguration
By David Carty-- 1/20/09Once President Barack Obama had been sworn into office, poet Elizabeth Alexander put into words what thousands of gatherers felt as the sun shined over Washington D.C. It was praise. Alexander's poem "Praise Song For The Day" followed up the 44th President's Inaugural Speech, saluting an American workforce dogged by economic hardship.
Alexander penned about those "stitching up a hem, darning a hole in a uniform...repairing the things in need of repair" as she acknowledged those at work during the Inaugural ceremony and possibly offering a nod to Obama who is faced with the task of repairing America's own faulty parts.
In the latter end of her poem, Alexander's tone spoke about hope and saluting life's simple joys. "I know there's something better down the road," she said. "We need to find a place where we are safe. We walk into that which we cannot yet see."
"Praise song for struggle, praise song for the day. Praise song for every hand-lettered sign, the figuring-it-out at kitchen tables....
In today's sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun," she wrote, finishing with the same themes of praise and hope. "On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp, praise song for walking forward in that light."
With those words the 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist became the fourth poet to speak at a Presidential Inauguration. In 1961, Robert Frost became the first, speaking at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy - both men died two years later.
Maya Angelou in 1993 and Miller Williams 1997, both for President Bill Clinton, were the other two to deliver a poem. All four came during the Inauguration of Democratic Presidents.