With regard to the poem below ~ it seems germaine to observe that at the time of these events Francis Scott Key was considered by the conservative establishment of the day to be a voice, not of inspiration, but of dissension.

… Yet to us, today, he stands deservedly in our grateful hearts among the revered Founding Fathers of our great nation.

A yet further perspective lies in the experiences of other men frenetically fighting aboard the same tiny vessel (has the reader ever gone aboard one of the old Tall Ships?):

“If you’re not going to help, at least get out of the WAY, dude!…” 

*****
Recorded Reading (0:37):

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/h86pnic2smavkpnoucrus/star-spangled-banner.mp3?rlkey=sq6hx8akzz6t0fso4xfwxl8e7&st=ijycceg8&dl=0
*****

“star spangled banner”

sung before every
civic event,

it serves
to inspire
and uplift all
within sound
of its

magnificent

messages

it came
into being
at the hand
of a man
who stood,

amid the
raging battle,

writing

poetry

*****

This poet/editor is physically disabled, and lives at a fraction of her nation’s poverty level.

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