The Outright Gift to  Abraham

Walk with me, God said to Abraham,
One fateful and history-making day.
Lift up your eyes and all this
Canaan land you see, Northward,
Southward, Eastward, and Westward,
I give to you outright--
And no man or god,
Will be able to take it away.

Fifty years ago, on a
Presidential inaugural day,
Describing the gift of America,
The "Poet" of all poets,
Robert Frost, boldy proclaimed:
"The land was ours before we were the lands,
She was our land more than a hundred years,
Before we were her people. As we give
Ourselves outright, such as she was,
Such as she will become."

Most rejoice and applaud these words
Of lasting poetic creed.
Yet, for our God to give the Holy Land,
As an outright gift to Israel,
Is a stomach-aching truth
That this high-tech secular world,
No longer cares to believe.

If in the heart and mind of Robert Frost,
The land of America is to be seen as
"The gift outright"* for the good old U.S.A.
Then, my friend, it should be the same
For Israel--Even though some,
Would wish it to be another way.


Author's note:
"The Gift Outright" is the title of the poem that
Robert Frost read on President Kennedy's Inauguaral
Day, January 21, 1961.