Editor:

I am a senior, 91 years young, and have been living in Evanston for 50 years. Evanston and my neighbors have been a most important part of my life and, I am certain, have been a contribution to my longevity. I have written this poem that I thought your readers might enjoy.

— Sarah B. Friedman

“To America, With Love”

America, America, sweet land of liberty

To you we owe our fate.

When other ports turned us away

You opened your gate.

Our land of birth rejected us,

We had nowhere to go.

When our spirits reached their lowest ebb,

Your mercy you did show.

We found great opportunities

No matter what our race

To rise to any heights we wished –

At last we found our place.

The right to say just what we think,

Whate’er our point of view,

To practice our religious faith

And to ourselves be true.

No nation over the entire globe

Shows such humanity.

You’ve cared for homeless by the score

With your hospitality.

Your splendor is beyond compare

From coast to coast you shine –

Your fields of grain, your mountains tall,

Your sheltering elms, divine.

Your works of art, your music halls,

Your journey to the moon,

Your countless great discoveries –

Each one has been a boon.

To Uncle Sam we drink a toast,

Our hearts are full of praise.

A million thanks are not enough

For your loving, caring ways.

May your stars and stripes forever wave,

And God’s mercies ever abound,

As freedom rings throughout the land,

Our voices will resound.