In each step that you take
To defend our ideals
From the soot on your face
To the fear you embrace
You proclaim to the one
And the world as a whole
That Americans care
For the poor of the soul.
Your attention is firm
Your fidelity, real
From the blood that you live
To the blood that you give.
Your belief in the birth
Of the goodness we share
Is a light in the dark
On the burdens flesh bear.
Far too few are these lines
To express all we feel
For the women and men
Last devotion and kor*
For a flag that unites
And allows us to kneel
For a faith in mankind
To forgive and restore.**
* Corps and core
** The Third Degree of Love (with understanding)