You can’t love your country only when you win,
True patriotism roots much deeper within.
It’s holding fast through the thick and thin,
Through struggle and loss, through virtue and sin.

You can’t love your neighbors only when you agree,
When beliefs divide like a raging sea.
Love bridges gaps that words may not mend,
Reminding us all we’re kin, friend to friend.

In triumph or failure, in light or in shade,
The strength of true love never will fade.
For nations are built not on ease or consent,
But on unity forged from hearts unbent.

So stand by your country, your kin, your creed,
With love in the hard times—the times of true need.
For the greatest of honors, the noblest grace,
Is to love without judgment, to hold with embrace.

Created by
MarkWaldrop