The last lines of poet Amanda Gorman's poem "This Sacred Scene," delivered at the Democratic National Convention on August 21:
"Like a million roots tethered, branching up humbly, making one tree.
This is our country from many, one, from battles won,
our freedoms sung, our kingdom come has just begun.
We redeem this sacred scene ready for our journey from it.
Together we must birth this early republic and achieve an unearthly summit.
Let us not just believe in the American dream. Let us be worthy of it."
Gorman was America's first National Youth Poet Laureate, who delivered the recitation at President Joe Biden's inauguration in January 2021.
(photo: Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images)
