Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln:
Presidents with Visions for America

"If they could speak today, what might they say?"
Inspired by Mt. Rushmore National Memorial

Here I sit on top Mt. Rushmore,
Wishing that you folks would hush more.
Way up here there's peace and quiet,
It's just bully! Why not try it.

Here I sit engraved in stone,
With three companions, I'm not alone.
I can't move-not one iota,
But I'm at home in South Dakota!

South Dakota in 'eighty-five,
That was where I felt alive.
I caught a thief who broke the law,
And punched a ruffian in the jaw.

Sitting here right next to Lincoln,
I can't help but do some thinkin'.
As a friend of this great nation,
I believe in conservation.

Garbage, waste, and air pollution-
Where, oh where, is the solution?
Pesticides and global warming,
Even killer bees are swarming!

Wilderness--I tried to save it.
It's your heritage, don't pave it!
Nature helps to soothe the soul.
It keeps you sane, humane, and whole.

As President I did my best,
As a monument I can rest.
In South Dakota, land of the Sioux,
I can just enjoy the vioux.

I am an old gray mountain
carved, whittled into fathers of freedom.
Symbols of democracy. I am more than stone
and symbols, more than tourist attraction. Strength.
Mountainous strength stands behind my eyes, words,
knowledge that passed generations of America.

I've watched generations of America
flow by like rivers, tasting mountain
air, drifting into history as if breathing words.
They have come to live words of freedom,
generation upon generation of strength,
independence. A country of unbreakable stone.

Just as I am stone,
molded from our country's souls, hearts of America.
My power weaves through every individual...strength,
courage, reminders only a mountain
could reveal--strength, courage, reminders only freedom
could birth. Reaching far beyond the spectrum of words.

Look upon me. Remember my words,
Remember those before us. My faces of stone,
grasp far beneath fathers of freedom.
It burrows deep into ideals, souls, and memories of America.
It is America. It is mountain.
It is messenger of American dreams and strength.

It is power of every individual strength
America lives...thrives. Standing behind our words
we face futures like ancient mountains
face the world. Exposed. Powerful. Pillars. Stones
of massive endurance. That is America!
That is freedom!
That is Rushmore.

She awoke
Frantic for a pen.
Her duty to impart
The words of four amazing men.

Alive in a dream,
For a second & no more,
With strong voices combined,
We the people, they did implore.

"Open minds & hearts
Do much to pave the way;
But a little time & effort
Overcomes the problems of today.

Smile, enjoy your lives
Give a helping hand.
The difference IS one person
For that, America is grand!"

High atop a mountain peak
Among the Black Hills pine
Four stone faces grace the sky
A monumental shrine

They represent our country
And South Dakota pride
They symbolize the spirit
Of people far and wide

Washington and Jefferson
Roosevelt and Lincoln
Four of our great Presidents
In words, deeds and thinkin'

I wonder what - they would say
If they were here today?
Would they say that government
Has gone a bit astray?

I wonder what - they would think
Of Politics and Polls?
Would they think that we were all
A country of lost souls?

I wonder what - they would do?
If they would all return
I wonder if we'd notice?
I wonder if we'd learn?

Would their deeds and thought and words
Carry as much thunder?
Could they make a difference now?
Would we care? . . . I wonder.

But what happened!
What happened to our heroes!
What we believed in!
What we stood for
when we were alive!
All gone now.

This America is different;
more impolite, cynical.
No wonder South Dakota
decided to carve us
into stone,
so outwardly, our ideals
could be understood.

When people watch us,
look up at us,
they will remember what
we believed in; what we
had in mind when we
were presidents.

At least our ideals are
still up there on Mount Rushmore.
It is good for ideals
to be on a mountain top.
At least people will reflect;
keep in their minds and hearts,
for just awhile perhaps.
They must look upwards.

Our thoughts were for goodness,
loving kindness, for dignity,
for a rightness of action.

As the sun gave Mount Rushmore its final golden ray
I gave thought to great men at the dieing of the day
If only they were here, what ever would they say?
It must have been a dream, the voices that came my way
Lincoln said "Great ideas evil men always seek to slay"
Rosevelt said " Softly with a stick keeps enemies at bay"
Washington and Jefferson said "For freedom you must pay"
Yes wisdom can be heard, when tricks your mind does play

As president, "Save this!" I said,
"This beauty, for the years ahead!"
Now parks and monuments are spread
'Cross lands where pioneers have tread.

These parks, now bursting at the seams,
Fulfill my fondest hopes and dreams,
The shore where varied wildlife teams,
Cool forests, lakes and mountain streams.

My legacy has proved to be
Much greater than I could foresee,
Grand Canyon and Yosemite
Protected for posterity.

I see the country of shining light
Still in darkness hid from sight

Color of skin hides all the glory
Of man we know not the story

Perhaps one day we will all see
The beauty of man and how it can be

For beauty of soul is not of skin
Brothers are we all, all men within

Here we sit, all made of rock,
of all we did, please take stock,
I want to say in this little rhyme,
I knew we were a "head" of our time.