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Writings by Yokota High School 11th graders on America at 250.
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Aidan Jones
America
We started with ink and a promise,
Walking across the country we birthed,
From the tall trees to steel cities,
We learned from our mistakes to build or break,
The years left scars on the people,
Yet the door always stayed open.
It wasn’t always easy or fair,
Yet our fire never burned out,
Two hundred and fifty years later,
And still a work in progress.
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Alexia Dobson
America
A will for freedom has flowed across a vast land.
That spirit remains unextinguished even under unjust oppression.
These will come together to create a vortex of revolution.
Like a bald eagle, we continue to soar from north to south.
This movement knows no bounds.
Even if tears of blood are shed along the way.
We will never stop, eventually it will permeate the world.
Its influence is immeasurable.
With a strength that will never be lost.
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Angelina Velez-Soto
America
A place where dreams take flight,
Mountains and valleys stretch across the area
From cities alive with hope and joy
To quiet towns that are filled with hard work
Each voices harmonize, a loud song,
shadows follow, challenges still found,
In unity and strength, a brighter path will be found.
With dreams as our compass, we forge ahead,
In pursuit of a future where all hearts are fed.
Home of the brave.
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Quincy Brown
America
250 years of America
Started on a day of fireworks and hotdogs
Going through wars and economic downturn
Advancements on technology and society
All of it led to present day.
Times have changed.
More jobs and time to spare
More places to explore and luxuries to obtain
America has provided its citizens with more opportunities than before
The freedom the founding fathers fought for is still here
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Amari Butler
25th Decade
United for the 25th decade
Prevailing countless wars
Creating this place of open doors
This place of freedom
Known for its red, white, and blue
With infinite dreams to pursue
Though this path hasn’t been smooth
Looking across the years, we’ve known
Through pride and pain our story has grown
But can this dream be kept afloat?
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Castro Sofia
America
America to me is complicated you see
We serve this country by living overseas
To me, an unfamiliar home
And yet I know so much of it
Two hundred fifty years of history
Wars today and all the way back to the independent decree
An unfamiliar home to me
But to my parents, and others it is home
And that is what I believe America should be
The familiar home
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Luke Harbert
America
A promise made in fire and smoke,
Two hundred fifty years since freedom spoke.
Brothers fought on their own ground,
Then war was found across the ocean.
From muddy holes to sunny sand,
The sword was always in the hand.
In jungle heat and desert air,
The pain of war was everywhere.
A flag that flies through loss and pride,
For all the ones who fought and died.
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Jesselton Ennis
America - A Reflection
Born from the blood of the oppressed
Shaped into a land unlike any other
America remains as one
Throughout dozens of presidents
And divided into many states
America stays united, refusing to break
For it is because of this unity
That we have carried on for two hundred and fifty years
As the land of the free
The land of opportunity
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Joma Gould
America
America is a unique dish
Crafted from ingredients given by other countries
The Spanish, Dutch, French, British
Made the first mark looking for god glory and gold
African American slaves
Brought by work needs, were a core part of this dish
The Irish and Germans
Came looking for new opportunity
The Chinese
Built the Railroads that connected the ingredients
The Japanese and Jews
Brought a mighty aroma that enhanced the flavors
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Aaron Jost
Two Hundred Fifty Years
Two hundred Fifty Years
A sentence with an ellipse
Written by many from far and wide
Burned in the forge time after time
Always emerging stronger
America is in the fields, in the streets,
On the farms, in the skyscrapers,
In the classrooms, In the offices
In the restaurants, in the parks
America is in all of us.
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Kenza Houston
250 Years of America
From thirteen stars and a dream
Through civil conflict and the steam engine’s shine.
Westward we marched over mountain and plain
Healing the scars of the people.
From factory floors to the moon’s dusty white,
Guiding the world with a flickering light.
Through shadows of towers and tides,
The spirit of liberty still safely resides.
Two centuries and fifty now etched into gold,
With millions of stories still left to be told.
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Merrill Samuel
America
America stands at two hundred fifty years,
a long breath carried from 1776 to 2026.
I hear the echo of promises written in ink and risk,
still unfolding in the hands of millions.
The roads stretch wider now,
holding stories that never made the textbooks.
Some days we rise together,
other days we argue our way toward understanding.
Yet the idea of America keeps walking forward,
still learning what freedom truly asks of us.
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Allyson Moore
All Those Years Ago and So Long Ago
Freedom was what was agreed upon
No more and no little
All those years ago
What we now stand on
Is a reflection of that
And now time has past
Those grounds have evolved
It is difficult to understand
To uphold the ideas today
For what was originally close so long ago
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Jada Solomon
America America
With many cultures and paths side by side
America takes its stride
Through trials leading in sunshine and rain
America America gleams in triumph and gain
A nation both free and bold
Where dreams take flight and stories are told
America stands proud in freedom’s light
Through every obstacle rising to higher heights
A land of hope where futures still unfold
America America stands so strong brimming with gold
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Bennett Sophia
Holiday
Fireworks bloom in a velvet night sky,
Red, white, and blue bursting high,
Laughter echoes through warm summer air,
Families gather without a care.
Sparks dance like stars falling fast,
Moments we wish would always last,
Flags wave proudly in every hand,
Celebrating freedom across the land.
The night glows bright with joyful light,
A perfect Fourth of July night.
