I will not follow you, little bird;
I will not follow you.
I would not breathe a word, little bird
To bring thee here anew.
For I love the free in thee, little bird,
The lure of freedom drew;
The light you fly toward, little bird,
I’ll fly with thee unto.
~Edited excerpt from a poem
by George William Russell

I awoke this morning by the Grace of God
in the land of the free and the home of the brave.
For that I am grateful Lord, and so today
I come to thank You as well as the women and men,
past and present, who have served and yet serve this great nation.
First was my sweet dad, Norman Franklin Holcomb, and
then are all those who like him sacrifice(d) life and limb
to stop those who would oppress our freedoms.
Thank all of you for keeping us free so we can enjoy
life and liberty as we chase our dreams in pursuit of happiness.
~Natalie Scarberry

Christ has liberated us to be free. Stand firm then and don’t submit again to the yoke of slavery. ~Galatians 5:1   ✝

**I created the collage with an old photo of my dad at boot camp and two images found on Pinterest