Amanda Gorman Quotes

The fact of the matter is that our country seldom counts all who
Matter. This is why red seeps from our flag.

our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,
battered and beautiful
When day comes we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid

We do not hope for no reason.
Hope is the reason for itself.
We don't care for our beloveds
For any specific, singular logic,
But, rather, for the whole of them.
That is to say,
Love is justified by loving.

There truly is a unity That requires no “they” For us to be threatened by. This is the very definition of love. We’ve never had to hate a human To hug another, never had to be fearful To be fond of the hearts beating out to us.

We will rebuild, reconcile and recover in every known nook of our nation, in every corner called our country our people diverse and beautiful will emerge battered and beautiful. When day comes, we step out of the shade aflame and unafraid. The new dawn blooms as we free it. For there is always light. If only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.

Always remember that
What happened to us
Happened through us.

Some distances, if allowed to grow,
Are merely the greatest proximities.

Some days, we just need a place where we can bleed in peace. Our only word for this is poem.

In 1863, deep in the Civil War's magnitude, Abraham Lincoln declared a day of gratitude Shared by one heart and one voice of America. A proclamation for a nation in a nightmare, This Thanksgiving dared Americans To chime their thanks at a time when many believed They had no thanks to give.

& SO It is easy to harp, Harder to hope. This truth, like the white-blown sky, Can only be felt in its entirety or not at all. The glorious was not made to be piecemeal. Despite being drenched with dread, This dark girl still dreams. We smile like a sun that is never shunted. Grief, when it goes, does so softly, Like the exit of that breath We just realized we clutched. Since the world is round, There is no way to walk away From each other, for even then We are coming back together. Some distances, if allowed to grow, Are merely the greatest proximities.

We've never had to hate a human
To hug another, never had to be fearful
To be fond of the hearts beating out to us.

Again, language matters.
Children have been taught-
America: without her, democracy fails.
But the truth is:
America without her democracy fails.

But the point of protest isn't winning;
It's holding fast to the promise of freedom,
Even when fast victory is not promised.

Non-being, i.e., distance from society — social distance — is the very heritage of the oppressed. Which means to the oppressor, social distance is a humiliation. It is to be something less than free, or worse, someone less-than-white.

For what does the Karen carry but her dwindling power, dying & desperate? Dangerous & dangling like a gun hung from a tongue?

As kids we sat in grass, Fished our hands into the dirt. We felt that damp brown Universe writhe, alert & alive, Earth cupped in the boat of our palms.