We the people embrace our Constitution,
We the people proclaim our resolution.

We the people are united and free,
We the people desire only to be.

We the people dream of what's right,
We the people yearn only for light.

We the people are the American will,
We the people are the soil and till.

We the people, all women and men,
We the people overcome time again.

-- MICHAEL UHRIN, Natrona Heights

* Translation: "A new order of the ages." The Latin phrase is found on the reverse side of a $1 bill.

Hail Barack Hussein Obama,
Unlikely lead in our country's drama;

A young man riding the fastest track,
Who's reached the top despite being black;

An orator serving up inspiration,
To a frightened and much dispirited nation.

Obama has faith in himself and in us,
And a confident grace that is ever a plus.

He tells us the truth and holds his head high,
Eschewing the pol's inclination to lie.

In selecting advisers, he chooses for skill,
Frustrating detractors and building goodwill.

Obama's a thinker, not just a decider;
He'll bring us together, not be a divider.

So raise a glass high to Obama's success --
May he help put an end to our nation's distress;

May the land of the free and the home of the brave
Be a place over which our flag proudly can wave.

With a president having a rational plan,
We can say with confidence, "Yes, we can!"

-- LIONEL E. DEIMEL, Mt. Lebanon

Dedicated to America On the Inauguration of Barack Obama
The wisdom of a nation is the wisdom of God.

Let's set out now, our feet well shod.
Let's lead and guide our visions true.
Let's do the work the honorable do.

The time for hope is a time of change.
We set our goals with faith our range.
The wise will lead and give us light.
We will not falter in the night.

We will know our lives were meant to be
lives of steadfast victory.
We will have heirs who will grow from this.
And, our work will last, will still exist.

We will make right all things once wrong.
We will widen the paths once narrow and long.
Our feet well shod, our intentions clear.
As a people and as a nation, our victory is near.

-- ROMELLA D. KITCHENS, Wilkinsburg