Our Nation’s flag waves proudly,
from sea to shining sea;
As an emblem of our freedom,
and for God and liberty.
But freedom isn’t really free.
It has tremendous cost,
paid by our Armed Forces
with each precious life that’s lost.
And it’s the final breath of these,
our Country’s proud and brave,
that is the force that moves the wind
and makes Old Glory wave.
Excellent. My nephew was serving as a U.S. Navy sailor and lost his life in our service. There are so many underlying connections in your poem that move the heart. The last stanza sends that emotional energy rippling through me whenever i read it. It feels like the breath of the brave moving over me.