Written in the middle of World War II, the poem reflects the comfort and solace one Christian woman found in the Holy Scriptures. “Old Glory” reflects the trust and confidence Mrs. Myers and her generation of Americans felt about the eventual outcome of that worst of all wars.

I thank, too, Mrs. Anyce Ruth Malone Hutchison for submitting the poem to The Madera Tribune. I have always been an advocate for The Madera Tribune to publish poems that meet the editor’s standards for good taste and good content. As a reader of The Madera Tribune, I depend on Mr. Doud to sift through all of the submissions.

Now that The Madera Tribune has published “Old Glory,” I hope Madera teachers will incorporate it into their American History courses. I am all for the study of history, but I maintain that literature is a part of it and should not be relegated to literature courses alone. Can you imagine studying the American Revolution without learning about “Common Sense” by Thomas Paine, published Jan. 10, 1776?

The Madera Tribune is a Christmas present I give myself every day of the year it is published. I have cut the poem out and I have laminated it. Thank you for sharing it with us — all of you. And as for grandmother only having a fourth-grade education, it is obvious to me that the home in which the author of the poem grew up was her first school, and her parents her first teacher — just as it should be.

How do you define “Quality of Life”? Life is a constellation. Among the stars in mine are: the stars of “Faith,” “Hope,” “Charity,” and “Poetry.” I sincerely believe a good poem can make a difference in a life. I encourage all of the readers of The Madera Tribune to submit those little poems they have penned in moments of inspiration. Share your thoughts with our community.

Brian Donald O’Donovan,
Madera