For all the tears and the blood

As we raise our flag

Atop our house, church, & morung;

Restoring in us, faith

And giving us, hope.

As we raise our flag

On the mountain top

And the valley below

In that far cornered hilltop village

And in the city down the river.

As the news spread like wildfire

Of the renewed recognition of our identity

I walk down that old road again

Where we have once treaded

And every step that I take

Reminds me of those patriots

That foresaw as day such as this

In that deep jungle

Chased as wild animals

For standing up for who they were

In their home

And in their land.

And as we raise our flag

I have to retell the story

Of a widow that once wept

Over a lifeless body

Who died for a cause greater than his life.

And as we raise our flag

I have to retell the story of an orphan

Who sacrifices his childhood

And lived on an innocent lie all these years.

I have to retell the story of a young man

Who took the bullet like a gift with a smile;

And a story of a young woman

Who sacrificed her dignity at the altar of shame.

As I walk down this road

Let me say thank you

Even if this hurts you

For the past that lights us today.